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Red Sox Making an October Statement

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – If it’s possible to make a statement in an October Major League Baseball game, the Boston Red Sox did so Monday night with a 12-3 demolition of the Houston Astros. The Boston victory in Game 3 of their American League Championship Series (ALCS), complete with three towering home runs came while while the Red Sox pitching staff limited the potent Houston offense to five scattered hits. The win gave Boston a 2-1 series lead.

In nearly all of professional sports, a combination of losing home field advantage in Game 2 and then getting throttled by nine in Game 3 would be such devastation that the losing team would fold up the tents and make vacation plans for Cancun for October 26-to-November 3.

But, not so for baseball. Not so for the Houston Astros.

The Astros are making their fifth consecutive appearance in the ALCS, splitting the previous four championship series, 2-2, and winning the World Series in 2017. To say they’ve been battle tested is an understatement. In the 2020 ALCS, the ‘Stros dropped the first three games to the Tampa Bay Rays only to become the second team in MLB history to fight back to play a Game 7. The Rays advanced but lost to the LA Dodgers, 4-2, in the 2020 World Series.

In Game 2 of the 2019 World Series against the Washington Nationals, the Astros dropped the first two games of the series at home with Game 2 a 12-3 shellacking (sound familiar?) That statement game by the Washington Nationals resulted in the Nationals returning home and proceeding to drop three straight to the Astros in a World Series where no team won on their home field.

When the Astros won their World Championship in 2017, they endured a devastating 6-2 loss in Game 4, allowing five runs to the LA Dodgers in the top of the 9th inning but bounced back to take an incredible 13-12 extra inning Game 5 win. After Justin Verlander and the Astros lost Game 6 in LA, Houston rebounded to take Game 7 with a 5-1 win. That series victory was tainted when Sports Illustrated revealed a pitch-tipping controversy a month after the series concluded.

Big-time victories don’t seem to carry over in Major League Baseball. when Nick Pivetta and Zack Greinke warm-up for Game 4 tonight, the canvas will be clean and Boston’s 12-3 Monday night win will be a distant memory for an Astros lineup that can crank it just as hard as the Red Sox did in Game 3.

In the pivotal game, Boston lived by the long-ball. In the bottom of the 2nd inning with the score already 2-0 Red Sox, newly acquired 1B Kyle Schwarber stepped-up to the plate with the bases loaded after a costly error by Houston All-Star 2B Jose Altuve. Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy misfired three times, twice with his four seam fastball and once with a change-up to take the count to 3-0 versus the dangerous, Fenway-loving bat of Schwarber.

Despite the 3-0 count and pressure mounting on the 26-year old Urquidy, pitching in his second season in the majors, Boston Manager Alex Coro gave his slugger the “green light” and Schwarber delivered with a 430-foot blast of a Grand Slam to right field to make the score 6-0, Boston.

Insurance runs were supplied by Sox 2B Christian Arroyo who hit a 399-foot, two-run homer in the bottom of the 3rd inning to elevate the Sox lead to 9-0 and J.D. Martinez’ 395-foot, two run dinger over Fenway’s Green Monster left field wall to put the Red Sox ahead 11-3 in the 6th. Two innings later, Raphael Devers placed an exclamation point on the Sox statement when he took Ryne Stanek for a 372-foot blast, crushing a 96 mph fastball over the Monster.

Not to be lost in the offensive barrage, Boston starter Eduardo “E-Rod” Rodriguez pitched for six innings, allowing only five hits, three runs while striking out seven. He was backed-up by scoreless innings tossed by each of Hansel Robles, Martin Perez and Hirokazu Sawamura.

“We’re playing good baseball, I think, all around, running the bases well, playing good defense, pitching well,” said Coro after the 12-3, Game 3 win. “Offensively this is the best we’ve been the whole season, and they’re locked in right now. The preparation – it’s a lot better right now. The communication is a lot better. Like I said, now it’s not about 30 homers or 100 RBIs. Now it’s about winning four games, and they’re doing everything possible in that batter’s box to grind at-bats and to put good at-bats, and they’re doing that.”

All that said, the scores will be wiped clean, by hand, on Fenway’s ancient scoreboard when the first pitch of Game 4 is thrown at 8:08pm (ET) tonight.

Houston Manager, the great Dusty Baker said it best, “They count as one (win). We come back and win tomorrow, the season — the series is even. I mean, you don’t like it. I’m not very happy about it, but you got to flush this one because you can’t bring this one or the last one back until tomorrow. And so, like I said, you don’t like it tonight, but the sun is going to come up in the morning.”

ALCS: Sox and ‘Stros Vie for Game 3

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BOSTON –  (Staff and Wire Services Reports and Preview Material – Boston’s DH J.D. Martinez and 3B Rafael Devers uncorked two grand samplings of power Saturday to lead the Red Sox and even their American League Championship Series with the Houston Astros at one game apiece. Tonight, the Red Sox return to Fenway Park with home field advantage and some serious momentum on their side as they host the Astros for a pivotal Game 3 in their best-of-seven showdown.

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Martinez and Devers became the first pair of teammates in MLB’s postseason history to hit Grand Slams in the same game, doing so in the first and second innings respectively of Boston’s decisive 9-5 win in Game 2 on Saturday at Houston. Boston cruised to the key win with a fourth-inning solo homer from Enrique “Kike” Hernandez, who continued his big to be the new “Mr. October” with a 2-for-4 performance to make him 16-for-32 (.500) with five home runs and nine RBIs through seven 2021 MLB Postseason games.

A career .242 hitter, Hernandez has an MLB-record 15 hits over his last five playoff games and became the first Red Sox batter to homer five times in five postseason games. He has already matched Todd Walker (2003) and former Sox DH David Ortiz (2004 and 2013) for the club record for home runs in a single postseason.

Already without injured ace Lance McCullers Jr., the Astros’ rotation took another blow in the form of an injury to Game 2 starter Luis Garcia. He exited after serving up the grand slam to Martinez, leaving potential Game 4 starter Jake Odorizzi to pitch in a surprise mop-up role.

“I was caught off guard by it. I think everybody was,” Odorizzi said. “I sucked up four innings. That’s the best way of putting it. Those can be crucial as we move forward in the series.”

Houston right-hander Jose Urquidy is set to make his postseason debut in a critical spot as he starts Game 3. The 26-year-old had been in line to start Game 4 of the team’s AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox before it was rained out. Urquidy went 8-3 with a 3.62 ERA over 20 starts in the regular season. In his postseason career, he is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA in eight appearances (four starts).

Boston will counter with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1, 5.40 ERA). The 28-year-old went winless in two playoff starts against Tampa Bay in the ALDS and is 0-1 with a 7.02 ERA in 10 career postseason games (three starts).

Rodriguez struggled in two regular-season starts against Houston as he went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in 9 1/3 innings. Overall, Rodriguez is 1-3 with an 8.53 ERA in six career starts against the Astros.

The Urquidy-Rodriguez duel has led to a relatively high (for postseason) Over/Under of 9.0 runs at DraftKings. Then, there’s the Fenway Park factor, as well.  Game 3 will mark the first of three ALCS games to be played at The Fens, a band-box for run scoring, especially if the New England winds kick in.

Boston Needs to Make Texas Toast

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – In a recent Digital Sports Desk column which had a general theme, “When they go low, we go high,” the finer points of the City of Tampa were underlined and applauded as opposed to the B.S. that the New York Post threw at the City of Boston when the New York Yankees were the guests at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, Fenway Park. While the Post proclaimed, “Boston Sucks,” Digital Sports Desk took the high road and pointed out that Tampa had a title-town winning streak ongoing with the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL and the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL. Tampa also claimed direct connections with the likes of hometown heroes such as musicians Ray Charles, Cannonball Adderley, Stephen Stills, David Sanborn and the model and actress Lauren Hutton.

The obvious question as the weekend of October 15-16-17 approaches and the fans of Houston wonder “What Say You?”

Houston is NOT a “HELL HOLE,” as the New York Post’s Wallace Matthews once wrote when the Knicks faced the Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals. It is the most populous city in the State of Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States with 2.3 million people and growing.

Certainly, Houston’s most famous claim to fame is the Johnson Space Center and “Mission Control” for the many NASA missions exploring outer space. Houston is called “Space City” and “H-Town.” The Houston Astros, once the “Colt 45s,” won the World Series in 2017 but not without controversy of sign stealing and drum-banging that cost GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch their jobs, along with Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora (who was then a bench coach for the ‘Stros before taking the reins in Boston for the 2018 World Series title season).

Houston was home to the then “mod” Astrodome, then known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The indoor baseball venue was the very first “dome,” built beginning in 1962 and opened in 1965. It hosted rock shows (Elvis, The Stones, Pink Floyd), heavyweight title fights (Ali) and the college basketball game of the century which featured 52,963 fans watching Elvin Hayes (39 points) and the University of Houston defeat the UCLA Bruins of Coach John Wooden and center Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) 71-69 on January 20, 1968.

Houston was the home of United States Presidents George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush. It claims a wide variety of famous singers, songwriters, actresses and models, from Kenny Rogers to Lyle Lovett to Kelly Emberg (model) or Charlies’ Angels star Jaclyn Smith. Boxing great George Foreman hails from Houston, as does the greatest gymnast of all-time, Simone Biles.

Houston has active arts and theatre, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and is widely known as a tech and medical center of the world, especially fighting every dreaded form of cancer.

How could Matthews ever call Houston a hell hole when it is the hometown of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter and Destiny’s Child and two-time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger is from nearby Katy, Texas?

The Red Sox will have their hands filled with the Astros this weekend, as the American League Championship Series (ALCS) opens up in Texas. The Astros went 95-67 this season and took the American League West title. This year will be the ‘Stros fifth consecutive appearance in the ALCS. The Astros lost the likes of outfielder George Springer (Toronto) and pitcher Gerrit Cole (NY Yankees) to free agency and are still great.

As MLB’s version of a “Final Four” has arrived, the sports world of Boston is not focused solely on baseball. Out in Foxboro, another Texas team, the vaunted Dallas Cowboys, will pay a visit to play the New England Patriots this Sunday (4:25pm). NFC East leader Dallas arrives with a 4-1 record and as winners of four straight, while the hometown Patriots are 2-3 and will need to compete mightily in order to gain a wild card berth in the NFL Playoffs. Nevertheless, the Cowboys vs Patriots will have “big game” status and higher TV ratings than the other three major sports combined.

Speaking of other major sports, the Boston Bruins will open their 2021-22 NHL season with a home game against another Texas team, the Dallas Stars, on Saturday night. The Bruins’ season begins with high hopes for another trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and maybe even another appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, largely dependent on the backline defense and goaltending sans the great, but injured, free agent Tuukka Rask (hip surgery).

It doesn’t end there, as the 75th Anniversary season of the NBA is soon to begin and the Boston Celtics will open on the road against longtime rival New York Knickerbockers with a Wednesday, October 20 appointment at Madison Square Garden. That game will be up against a possible Game 5 of the ALCS, as the series will move to Fenway Park for Game 3, 4, 5, scheduled October 18-19-20, with seasonal weather forecasts to delight the faithful fans at The Fens.

Lastly, the Boston College Eagles (4-1, 0-1 in ACC) will play a make it or break it ACC matchup in Chestnut Hill this Saturday night when the N.C. State Wolfpack (4-1, 1-0 in ACC) visits The Heights. Although it’s still relatively early in the college football season, the outcome of the game for the Eagles — especially at home — will determine their ability to compete for the upper echelons of the ACC. Believe it or not, this game is likely to determine Bowl eligibility and/or destinations for B.C.

The week of Boston sports festivities begins tonight in Houston when Red Sox ace Chris Sale (5-1) takes to the mound against Framber Valdez (11-6) of the Astros. Sale was shelled his last time out against the Tampa Bay Rays but has worked his mechanics ever since the October 8 debacle when he threw only one inning but let up five earned runs in a game the Red Sox managed to win 14-6. Boston exploded with five home runs in that game, which turned their series around and helped the Sox advance to the ALCS with a 3-1 series upset over Tampa.

The Highs and Lows of MLB Postseason

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Red Sox to Face Tough Tampa Bay Rays in ALDS

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – When it comes to postseason baseball, when they go low – WE GO HIGH!

Before the Boston Red Sox eliminated the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card game, you might’ve heard about the New York Post rattling their once mighty sabres to taunt all things Boston with a column listing dozens of suggestions why “Boston Sucks.”

The reasons included gems like:

  • Incapable of making a good pizza.
  • Use the word “wicked” to describe everything other than witches.
  • The accent.
  • The people with the accent.
  • Bill de Blasio roots for you.

Besides the fact we’ll put the North End’s Regina Pizzeria up against Patsy’s any day of the week, the focus today is more a call-out of the ill-fated column’s sophomoric content and the old-as-time, typical New York trash-talking before any major league playoff series. One might harken back to 1994 when the Houston Rockets met the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals and the New York Post and the Houston Chronicle got into a trash-talking match which was led by then-NYP columnist Wallace Matthews going so far as to describe America’s fourth most populous city as “a steamy, bug-infested nondescript prairie town.” Matthews’ editors and headline writers took it from there with the memorable “This place is a hellhole” banner.

When the Houston Rockets took Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Chronicle shot back with: HELLHOLE 1, N.Y. 0.

That brief history lesson brings us to the present day and the upcoming ALDS series pitting the Boston Red Sox against the Tampa Bay Rays which starts tonight in Florida.

The so-called New England elite might begin to compare the two cities by citing the differences between Harvard, MIT, Tufts and Boston College against Tampa’s University of South Florida (which is not even in South Florida), but let’s not go there. As it says, New York went low, so we’ll go HIGH.

How can you rip Tampa in 2021 when the Tampa Bay Bucs are the reigning NFL Super Bowl champions? The Buccaneers maneuvered their way to acquire New England treasure and greatest NFL quarterback of all-time Tom Brady, along with our favorite knucklehead tight end Rob Gronkowski to build a football team than might even repeat as NFL champions.

On the skating rink, you’d think the Northerners would have the advantage, but … No … the Tampa Bay Lightning are the class of the National Hockey League and have three Stanley Cup titles to prove it. Since 2003, they’ve made more trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs than Patriots’ team owner Robert Kraft has made to the Orchids of Asia spa. The Lightning are the defending Cup champions as the new NHL season begins and there’s nothing on paper to think they won’t be standing in front of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman for another presentation in 2022.

Thank goodness, Tampa-St. Pete doesn’t field a franchise in the NBA or the vaunted Boston Celtics might be in big trouble.

The subject of SPORTS is not the only distinguished merits of the City of Tampa, although you might note Mets fireballer Doc Gooden and LA Dodgers great Steve Garvey are both from Tampa, along with scores of major leaguers and even a few pro wrestling greats (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, to name two).

Let’s discuss music, starting with the fact both the great Ray Charles and sax-man extraordinaire Cannonball Adderley hail from Tampa.

If you want to get real serious, the charming and amazing actress and model Lauren Hutton spent her formative years in Tampa and graduated from Chamberlain High School before attending UCF and later Tulane University.

Back on the music scene, you can’t overlook that alto saxophone superstar David Sanborn was born in Tampa and Ray Charles’ band played a huge influence on his life as one of the purest sax players in history. Do you like Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young? If you want to *teach your children well, Stephen Stills – the genius songwriter, musician and voice of the ’60s – grew up in Tampa and Gainesville, Florida.

Tampa has enough history and success stories to continue, but we’ll conclude with the fact that the orchestrator of the “Evil Empire,” the late New York Yankees team owner George Steinbrenner was born in Ohio and bounced around until settling down in Tampa in 2006 until his death there at age 80 (2010). ‘Nuff said about that, right?

Remember, we’re going HIGH except for one last “Big Dig.” New York, you can have Bill de Blasio.

The prediction: Sadly, Tampa in four games.

Note: *Teach Your Children was written by Stills’ CSN sidekick Graham Nash.

Wild Card Could’ve Been an Ace

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Red Sox Host Yankees in AL “One & Done”

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Oh what a difference eight games has made. Fresh in their minds, the Red Sox have the recent series loss of blowing two-of-three to Baltimore from September 28-30, but do you remember those three straight games lost to those same Orioles to start the season? Then there was the other recent would’a, could’a, should’a – the devastating three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees September 24-28. That’s eight games in the loss column right there.

The 2021 Boston Red Sox rarely lost three games in a row during the season, but when they did, they were clinkers, for sure.

Three losses to the rival Yanks (August 17-18) cost them dearly, as did dropping 12-of-15 in a mid-summer swoon from July 28 to August 10th. That midseason debacle included five losses in six games against the 100-win Tampa Bay Rays, the champions of the American League East.

In Major League Baseball, it’s the price you pay for losing important games during the season while still managing to win an impressive 92 games. Both the Sox and the Yanks finished 92-70 and earned the right to play a single-elimination game on Bill James‘ birthday.

The 92 wins bounced the powerful Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) and the September red-hot Seattle Mariners (90-72) from wild card contention. Those two teams will be looking back at the 162-game schedule and lamenting opportunities lost and saves blown. It is not the last we will hear from the young, talented and offensive juggernaut Blue Jays, that is for sure.

It could be worse, as the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in this one-and-done Fall Foolishness after winning 106 regular season games, one shy of the 107-55 San Francisco Giants, the surprise team of this year of COVID-19+2. Can you imagine? winning 106 games, second-most in the majors and being subject to the one-game boot, depending on the performances of LA’s Max Scherzer and St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright.

While contemplating all the ‘game of inches’ aspects of Baseball, a thought made famous by Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II, and said to myself, “This is the business we’ve chosen.” The rules were written in plain English before the start of the season and the results are clear.

Playing in a Major League Baseball wild card game could be replaced by dozens of other mechanisms to determine a true postseason participant. “Spin-the-Bottle” might be appropriate and quite easy to orchestrate if you had 18 players stand in a circle, the starting nine for each team alternating one by one. A sponsor, such as Bud Light, would eat it up, if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred chugged a beer, put down the long neck and gave it a spin to decide if the Red Sox or Yanks would advance to a “real series.” Winner plays on Thursday night on FS-1, if you can find it on your dial.

Maybe the Bruins and Rangers could settle the wild card, competing in an NHL-style shoot-out on behalf of their brethren. After all, one-on-one breakaways to settle a hockey game is even more ridiculous than spin-the-bottle or a one-game elimination after 162 game season, isn’t it?

How about jump shots from the top of the key? Boston would pick Larry Bird to represent the Red Sox and the Knicks? Well, Charles Oakley, or even better, Ken “The Animal” Bannister, might do well for Go New York, Go New York, Go!

The fact of the matter is that these “One-and-done-tobers” might go the way of the “No Pepper” signs, as MLB is contemplating a 16-team postseason to be enacted as early as 2022. The future first round would be best-of-three series which seems a bit more reasonable, although not great. The problem at hand for MLB, the season can’t begin any earlier in March nor end any later into November, unless Canada Goose becomes the official uniform supplier.

The club owners and the television networks want more programming. The players want more money. The fans will get what MLB serves up, and chances are, they’ll like it. After all, it can all boil down to one pitch, one blown save, one Baltimore chop single, or one Steve Bartman fan-interference fiasco.

Baseball. It’s a game of inches and first pitch is 8:09pm (EDT) tonight.

 

Red Sox vs Texas Rangers Postponed as Henri Approaches

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Red Sox News Release) – The Red Sox-Rangers game scheduled for today, Sunday, August 22, at Fenway Park has been postponed due to the potential impact of Hurricane Henri in New England. The current forecast calls for several bands of moderate to heavy rain throughout the day and sustained winds of 30-40 MPH in the Fenway area with more severe conditions including several inches of rain, flash flooding and hurricane force winds expected to the south and west. State and local officials are asking all residents to use caution throughout the day on Sunday and only travel if absolutely necessary.

Sunday’s game has been rescheduled for Monday, August 23, beginning at 1:10 p.m. Tickets for Sunday’s game will be good for admission to the rescheduled contest. Fenway Park gates will open 90 minutes before first pitch at 11:40 a.m.

There is rain in the forecast for Monday, so check listings and here on Digital Sports Desk.

Sox Announce 2022 MLB Schedule

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BOSTON – (Source: Official team news release) – In conjunction with Major League Baseball, the Red Sox released the dates for their 2022 regular season games. The club begins the season at Fenway Park on Thursday, March 31, when they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays in the first of a three-game series – marking the third year in a row the Red Sox will open at home.

The Red Sox will play the New York Yankees at Fenway Park three times – July 7-10, August 12-14, and September 13-14. The team will play at Yankee Stadium on April 7-10, July 15-17, and September 22-25.

The club will make a rare trip to Wrigley Field in 2022 for a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs July 1-3. The series will be the club’s first visit to Wrigley since 2012.

The Red Sox will travel to three other National League ballparks in 2022: Truist Park for a two-game series against the Atlanta Braves (May 10-11), PNC Park for a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (August 16-18), and Great American Ball Park for a two-game series against the Cincinnati Reds (September 20-21).

Four National League teams will make trips to Fenway Park next season, including three from the Central division: the Cincinnati Reds (May 31-June 1), the St. Louis Cardinals (June 17-19), the Milwaukee Brewers (July 29-31), and the Atlanta Braves (August 9-10).

The Red Sox will host the Minnesota Twins for a four-game series on Patriots’ Day Weekend (April 15-18). The team will be home on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, against the Baltimore Orioles, the first home game on Memorial Day since 2019. The club will face the St. Louis Cardinals at home on Sunday, June 19, which is both Father’s Day and Juneteenth. The Red Sox will also play at Fenway Park on Independence Day, Monday, July 4, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The final home series of the regular season will be against the Baltimore Orioles (September 27-29), and the regular season will conclude with a three-game series on the road at the Rogers Centre in Toronto (September 30-October 2).

Red Sox Extend Matt Barnes

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Team News Release) – The Boston Red Sox today signed right-handed pitcher Matt Barnes to a two-year contract extension that spans the 2022-23 seasons, with a club option for 2024. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement before Sunday’s Red Sox game against Philadelphia.

Barnes, 31, has spent his entire career in the Red Sox organization since Boston selected him in the first round (No. 19 overall) of the 2011 June Draft. In 362 career major league appearances (two starts), the right-hander is 30-23 with 34 saves, a 3.94 ERA (164 ER/374.1 IP), and 500 strikeouts. His 360 relief outings rank fourth in Red Sox history behind only Bob Stanley (552), Mike Timlin (394), and Jonathan Papelbon (393), while his 362 total appearances rank eighth.

Since the start of the 2016 season, Barnes leads American League relief pitchers in appearances (325), strikeouts (453), and wins (27), and ranks second in innings (322.1). He was the only American League pitcher to make at least 60 appearances and throw at least 60.0 innings in each season from 2016-19, tied for the most such seasons in Red Sox history. Since the start of 2018, Barnes has struck out 37.8 percent of batters faced and averaged 14.47 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, the third-highest marks among pitchers who have thrown at least 150.0 innings in that time.

In addition to earning his first career All-Star Game selection this season via the Player Ballot, Barnes was named the American League’s Relief Pitcher of the Month for April. In 37 appearances this year, he has recorded 19 saves with a 2.68 ERA (11 ER/37.0 IP), 0.86 WHIP, .171 opponent batting average, 62 strikeouts, and 10 walks. Barnes is currently posting career bests in ERA, WHIP, opponent batting average, walks per 9.0 innings (2.43), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.20). According to FanGraphs, he ranks fourth among relievers in wins above replacement (1.7).

In 11 career Postseason outings, Barnes is 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA (1 ER/10.1 IP) and a .167 opponent batting average (6-for-36). He helped lead the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title, earning wins in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros and in Game 1 of the Fall Classic against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barnes led Boston with 10 appearances during the Postseason, nine of which were scoreless.

Sox Continue Winning Streak at Oakland

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OAKLAND – Kiké Hernández took a swing at a 3-1 sinker ball and popped it up to lead-off the Boston Red Sox game against the Oakland Athletics Friday night. Miraculously, the ball did not leave the sold-out ballpark, as a crowd of 32,304 fans looked on. Hernández had hit a leadoff home runs in three of Boston’s five prior games (Sunday, Monday, Thursday) and was the only Red Sox player ever with three or more leadoff homers in a five-game span.

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Hernández went on to other heroics in the game as he drove in the go-ahead run with a broken-bat single in the 10th inning and then made a tremendous defensive play to throw out Oakland’s Seth Brown at home plate from center field in the bottom of the 10th inning, resulting in a 3-2 Red Sox victory.

The Boston win came after the usually dependable closer Matt Barnes allowed an Elvis Andrus home run in the bottom of the ninth. Barnes blew his fourth save and the Red Sox had to rely on reliever Adam Ottavino to pitch the extra inning, complete with Brown posted on second base to start off the inning.

The win was credited to Barnes (4-2) and Ottavino earned his sixth save of the season.

The Sox have won their last eight games, the AL’s longest active win streak and the club’s second-longest of the season behind the nine games they won from April 5-14th. Boston is a season-high 21 games over the .500 mark.

Red Sox Come From Behind (Again)

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BOSTON – Simply put, this season the Boston Red Sox are winning games they are not supposed to win.  Monday night against the Kansas City Royals, the Sox trailed 5-1 entering the bottom of the 2nd inning before scoring one run in the 2nd inning, three runs in the 4th, and another run in the 6th inning. Outfielder Hunter Renfroe homered twice, including the game-winning blast to spot the Red Sox their 6-5 come-from-behind victory. It was the club’s 26th such win this season.

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The victory, combined with a weekend sweep of the New York Yankees, allowed Boston a “W” in each of the last four games and lifted the club to a season-high 17 games above .500 (previous: 15 games, 3 times).

Renfroe led the way, going 2-for-4, with two runs scored, the two HRs, three RBI. He  hit a two-run HR in the 4th inning, cutting the Sox’ deficit to 5-4, then hit a go-ahead solo homer in the 6th inning.  It was his 13th career multi-HR game and what made Monday night special was the fact the HRs had projected distances of 439 feet (4th inning) and 434 feet (6th inning). Overall, his 11 HR this season have averaged 419 feet (4,608 total feet).

Kiki Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a run scored on his lead-off homer. He hit a solo HR to lead off the bottom of the 1st for the second consecutive game, his ninth career leadoff homer and his third in 2021.

The Royals lost their 6th straight game and are (1-6) to start the current 10-game road trip.

Boston closer Matt Barnes converted his 17th save of the season (20 save opportunities, 85%), retiring all three batters faced in a scoreless 9th inning.