Month: August 2017

Red Sox Offense Sparks Comeback vs. Yankees

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It was the bottom of the 7th, with the Sox down 6-3.  But the bases were loaded for Mookie Betts.  He flew out, but Vazquez scored from third.  That was followed by an Andrew Benintendi single that knocked in JBJ.  After Hanley Ramirez loaded the bases again with a walk, Mitch Moreland came in to pinch hit.  He got a nice pinch hit single, and both Nunez and Benintendi scored!  The Red Sox had taken the 7-6 lead with a 4-run 7th!  

The Red Sox won the series opener against the Yankees 9-6, in a back and forth game.  Drew Pomeranz did exit in the 4th with back spasms, and the bullpen gave up 6 runs in the next 3 innings.  However, the Red Sox were able to come back as the offense sparked and both Addison Reed and Craig Kimbrel had good outings.  

Pomeranz started off the night strong.  He struck out 4 and gave up just 4 hits in the first 3 innings.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense was ambitious to start off the game strong.   With 2 outs in the bottom of the 2nd, Xander Bogaerts hit a huge double off the monster that almost left the ballpark.  Then with Bogey on 2nd, the red hot Rafael Devers came up to bat.  Devers hit it in the same direction, right towards the monster.  But this one was gone!  Rafael Devers had hit another home run, his 7th career dinger, and he had only played 19 games so far.  


The Red Sox had a 2-0 lead through 3.  However, in the 4th, Pomeranz started throwing the ball way off, and they knew he was hurt.  He had to be pulled from the game.  Christian Vazquez extended Boston’s lead in the 5th though with a leadoff solo shot.  He crushed it and it almost left the park completely.  


But the Yankees struck back in the 6th.  Headley singled, and Todd Frazier hit a 2-run shot to left center.  The Red Sox were leading 3-2 but the Yankees were on a roll, and it continued in the 7th, starting with a Gary Sanchez leadoff solo shot to tie the game.  


The Yankees weren’t done after that.  Joe Kelly walked Gregorius and Headley singled to make it 1st and 2nd.  Then Heath Hembree came in, only to walk another batter and load the bases for Ronald Torreyes.  Torreyes hit a long single off the monster, and not just 1, but 2 runs scored.  It was now 5-3 Yankees.  

The Yanks weren’t done either.  A Brett Gardner walk loaded the bases again, and after Robby Scott, the third pitcher of the inning hit Aaron Hicks by the pitch, the Yankees had a 3-run lead!  The Red Sox ended up bringing in Addison Reed to finish the inning, their 4th pitcher in the 7th.  

But the Red Sox struck back in the bottom of the 7th.  Vazquez got on base again with a single, and JBJ walked to make it 1st and 2nd.  Nunez got on base on an infield single, and the bases were loaded with just 1 out.  Mookie Betts hit a sac fly to score in Vazquez.  Then with men on 1st and 2nd, Benintendi singled to knock in JBJ!  It was now just 6-5 Yankees.  The Red Sox were coming back, and Mitch Moreland got the lead back for Boston with a pinch hit 2-run single!  It was now 7-6 Red Sox going into the 8th.  

Addison Reed pitched a quality inning for the Sox, and they scored again in the 8th.  Devers singled and Vazquez walked.  With JBJ batting, they each stole a base!  So JBJ was up with 2 runners in scoring position, and single was enough to knock them both in.  Now the Red Sox were the team with a 3 run lead.  

Kimbrel came in and struck out the side to end the game!  The Red Sox had won 9-6!  What a game to start another series in this epic rivalry.  

Chris Sale takes the mound tomorrow in hopes of another 10+ K game, and a win for the Red Sox.  Will the Sox clinch the series with their ace on the mound?

Benintendi Hits 2 Dingers as Red Sox Cream Yankees

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With every win there’s a different Hero for this team.  Yesterday, it was Andrew Benintendi.  He was up at the plate in the 5th with 2nd and 3rd.  He had already hit a 3-run shot in the 3rd inning.  Then he nailed another one to right, and just like the last one, it was gone!  Benny had hit two 3-run jacks on the day.  


Early in the game, it was looking like a pitcher’s duel, as Luis Severino put up a 6-pitch 1-2-3 inning.  Pomeranz was ready to match that, he had pitched well all year.  But he let up a leadoff single to Brett Gardner.  He shut down Hicks and Judge, which was promising, but with Gardner still on first, Gary Sanchez hit a home run around the right field pole.  It was a relatively easy HR to hit, but the Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead.  That probably would’ve been a routine fly ball at Fenway, but this is Yankee Stadium.  


Both pitchers settled down in the 2nd inning, but the Red Sox offense was ready to rumble in the 3rd.  Severino started the inning well, as Devers lined out to left.  But after giving up 2 consecutive walks, Eduardo Nunez was brought up to the plate with 1st and 2nd.  He reached on an error to load the bases for Betts.  Would Betts hit a grand slam and put an end to the Yankee lead?  He didn’t hit a grand slam, but he did hit it past the shortstop for an RBI single.  Both JBJ and Vazquez scored, and it was a 2-2 tie game. 


Benintendi was up with men on 1st and 2nd.  He nailed the ball to right center, and it made it out of the park!  The Sox now took a 5-2 lead.  That’s what you can call payback for the Yankees’ 5 run inning on Friday night.  Were they done?  I didn’t think so after Hanley and Moreland singled back-to-back.  But Bogaerts lined out to left, and Hanley Ramirez was called out at 2nd.  It was a double play to end the inning, and another out on the bases for this team.  However, the Sox had secured a 3-run lead going into the bottom of the 3rd.  

Pomeranz had another solid inning, that was followed by a better inning by Severino, who struck out the side.  But the Yankees tried to strike back in the bottom of the 4th.  Gregorius got his 2nd hit of the day, and Frazier walked to make it first and second, and a Chase Headley hit loaded the bases.  Ellsbury, who had struggled all year, was up, but the bases were loaded with nobody out.  Although Ellsbury grounded out, a run came in to score.  It was now 5-3 Red Sox.  The lead had been cut short.  However, Pomeranz was lucky enough to shut down the next 2 batters and get out of the inning giving up just 1 run.  

The Red Sox didn’t want to let the Yanks come back on them, again.  So in the 5th, they went all out.  Nunez led off with a base hit, and he was sent to third by a Mookie Betts doubled.  Then, with two runners in scoring position, Benintendi came up to the plate.  He hit another one high into right field, and it was gone!  Andrew Benintendi had just hit his 2nd 3-run shot on the day!  The Red Sox had an 8-3 lead, and once again, they weren’t done after the dinger.  Moreland doubled to get on base, and Bogey reached on an error.  Severino was officially done.  With runners on the corners and just one out, Devers was up.  His double to center knocked in both Bogaerts and Moreland!  It was now a 10-3 Red Sox lead.   

It began to quiet down after that.  Pomeranz went 6.2 innings after a relatively strong 5th and 6th.  Brandon Workman got the final out in the 7th, shutting down Aaron Judge.  In the 8th, the Red Sox got three consecutive hits, but no runs scored.  Devers had singled, but he got out at 2nd.  Another out on the bases!   Although Vazquez and JBJ each had a single, the Red Sox couldn’t knock them in with 1 down as Benny didn’t get an at bat before the inning ended.  

In the bottom of the 9th, the Yankees still had something left in the tank though.  Chase Headley led off with a homer to center.  Ellsbury hit another homer to right to make it back to back jacks.  It was 10-5 Yankees.  Would the Yankees be able to come back after all this?  


No.  Robby Scott got 3 quick outs to end the game.  The Sox had won 10-5, tying the series.  Tonight, they will play the final game in this epic series.  Chris Sale, the AL leader in ERA, wins and strikeouts, will take the mound for Boston as Jordan Montgomery starts for the Yankees.  Sale has been great against the Yanks and he’s shut down Judge.  Will Sale give the Sox this series, or will the Yankees win it at home?  Find out tonight on Sunday Night Baseball.

An Inside Look at Working at the Boston Herald

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This past week, I had an amazing chance to see what’s it’s like to work as a journalist at the Herald.  Not only did I see how the newspaper works, but I had a full multimedia experience by observing both a radio show and video for the website.

I started on Wednesday morning, and I got up early and caught the 7:30 train for my first commute. I arrived at the Herald a little bit before 9:00 and Editor-in-Chief Joe Sciacca’s assistant Barbara Long met me in the lobby.  She gave me an extended tour, and we read the paper.  

Barbara told me, “When people come in, the first thing they do is read the paper.” 

Once we were done, I met an editor and radio host, Zuri Berry.  I spent the morning observing Zuri and then eating lunch with him.  He was working on editing the other interns’ articles and looking for news that had been sent to the special Boston Herald inbox.  One of the interns, Peter, was an 18 year old sports fan going to Auburn in the fall.  Zuri told me that someone always has to keep an eye on the Herald email account to see if any news was sent to them.  Although my passion is sports, Zuri told me that journalists need to keep on top of all news.   

In the afternoon after Zuri prepared for his radio show, I sat with managing editor Joe Dwinell and he showed me all the drafted articles on the website waiting to be edited.  Then the sports editor Sean Leahy showed me the sports budget that would be presented at the news meeting.  The sports budget shows what articles will fit into the space allocated for the sports section. During the meeting, I presented the entire sports budget!  One of the articles I presented even made the front cover.  It was about Tom Brady’s 40th birthday and what it meant for his career.  After the news meeting, it was time for me to go.  It was a great first day.

When I came in the next day, I saw the article I presented on the cover as I read the paper.  As a gift, they gave me a poster of the Herald’s front cover from the day after Super Bowl 51.  The headline was “Roger That” with a picture of Tom Brady holding the Lombardi trophy.  


By the time I was done reading the paper, sports editor Rachel Fox was there and I spent the morning with her.  She had a TV by her desk and I put on SportsCenter while she looked at what sports articles were going up on the website.  At noon, I went with sports reporter Meredith Gorman to a birthday party for Tom Brady at Faneuil Hall.  TB12 wasn’t there, but there was a goat with a Tom Brady jersey!

Meredith picked up lunch for us at Quincy Market and we took an Uber back to the Herald.  After lunch, I sat in on Zuri Berry’s radio show and observed in the radio control room for a bit.  It was a great experience to see the radio show in action.  I stayed with Zuri until the 3:30 news meeting, where I listened and took notes.  

For my third and final day, I came in right at 9:00 and read the paper.  The Red Sox recap and Pats camp notes were the most interesting to me, especially since the Red Sox won in a high scoring game, 9-5.  After finishing the paper, Barbara let me use her computer to write an article for my blog.  Once Zuri Berry had arrived and read the paper, I spent the rest of the morning with him.  I stayed with Zuri to watch the first hour of his radio show.  Later, I went to see the sports budget that Sean had made and attented the 3:30 news meeting for the third straight day.  At the meeting, I presented the Patriots articles planned for the sports section.  Before I left, I talked to Joe Sciacca about the great week for a bit and said my goodbyes to Sean, Zuri, Barbara and everyone else.  

I’d like to thank Joe Sciacca, Barbara Long, Zuri Berry, Jenny Miller, Mark Murphy, Sean Leahy, Rachel Fox, Meredith Gorman, Joe Dwinell, Peter Santo and everyone at the Herald that made my first internship experience great.

I learned so much in only three days.  My favorite part was learning how the Paper came together each day.  I can’t wait to come back and learn more.  

Bummer!  Red Sox Walk-Off in Extras After Pitchers Duel

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If you’re a White Sox fan, last night must’ve been a Bummer for you as Aaron Bummer gave up the Red Sox’s walk off solo shot.  

It was tied 2-2, with Bummer pitching in the bottom of the 11th.  He needed one more out to send the game into the 12th.  But then Mitch Moreland came up to bat.  He hit it high into left center and it was gone.  What a Bummer for the White Sox as the Red Sox walked it off.  

Early in the game, it was a pitchers duel.  Through the first 3 innings, Carlos Rodon had struck out 3, and had given up 1 hit.  Eduardo Rodriguez had also held the White Sox to 1 hit.  


But in the top of the 4th, the White Sox struck first.  Jose Abreu hit a double to begin the inning.  Kevan Smith almost got on base again after reaching on an error in the 2nd, but Mookie Betts wouldn’t let him. 


However, Leury Garcia walked, and Yoan Moncada advanced the runners with a groundout.  Now it was 2nd and 3rd for Nicky Delmonico, who has been a pest for the Red Sox so far this series.  He hit a 2 run double to give Chicago the lead.  

After Rodon struck out 2 in the bottom of that inning, the Red Sox offense woke up in the 5th inning.  It was still a 2-0 lead for the White Sox.  Rafael Devers led off with a single.  Then Bogaerts got Devers to third on another base hit.  Chris Young made it back-to-back-to-back singles and knocked on Devers the next at bat.  The Red Sox were on the board.  The Red Sox continued to try and rally. 

Vazquez struck out next, but with 1 down JBJ got crazy infield single to load the bases.  The White Sox could’ve had a double play, but good baserunning got in the way.   Betts failed to produce, even with the bases loaded and grounded into a force out that got Bogaerts out at the plate.  Benintendi was up with bases loaded and 2 down.  However, he struck out as the Red Sox blew it with bases loaded, twice in one inning!  They could’ve won the game right there, but instead, the game dragged on.  

However, in the bottom of the 6th, Eduardo Nunez led off with a moonshot that nearly went over everything.  It was his 7th homer of the season (his 5th with the Red Sox) and the game was tied 2-2.


 Although the Red Sox were not able to score in the 7th or 8th, good relief outings by Addison Reed and Matt Barnes kept the game tied.  Reed even picked off Tim Anderson at 2nd base to end the 7th. 

Kimbrel came in to pitch the 9th with the game tied.  He got in a jam though that made it first and second for Adam Engel.  Engel bunted, but the Sox went for the out at third.  It was originally called a bunt single with no out, but the Red Sox challenged it.  They clearly won the challenge and the play was overturned.  Then Kimbrel struck out the next two batters!  That’s how you get out of a jam!


But the White Sox shutdown the Red Sox again, and the game went into extras.  The 10th was quiet due to good relief pitching.  Heath Hembree got out of First and second after another bunt into a forceout, followed by a pickoff at second and a groundout!  It looked like White Sox pitcher Aaron Bummer was going to have a strong inning too.  With 2 outs and nobody on with Moreland up, it looked like this would just be another 1-2-3 inning.  But no.  Moreland hit it out of the park!  What a Bummer for the White Sox!  


Aaron Bummer blew the game for Chicago as the Sox walked off 3-2.  What a game.  Can the Red Sox clinch the series with a win tonight as Pomeranz takes the mound?  Find out tonight at 7PM.  

MLB July Power Rankings: Who Can Stop the Dodgers?

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The trade deadline has passed and we are getting into the home stretch.  This is where we see the good, the bad and the ugly.  Where contenders separate from pretenders.  Where the World Series favorites emerge.  Who to I have taking the next step?  Who will fall?  Keep reading to find out.





 

Biggest Jump: Royals (Up 8)

Biggest Drop: Angels (Down 6)