Exactly what we needed last night.
TLDR: The Red Sox scored many runs, 20 of them, and Rays scored only 8, which is the right side of a blowout. Eovaldi was borderline un-hittable for 7 innings and the offense was… alive.
I have 2 young kids and, generally speaking, there is never a good blowout (sorry for the poop joke). Last night though, when the Sox played, was the best kind of blowout. Baseball is a stressful sport! The Sox have been particularly stressful lately.
So it was some much needed respite to have a very not stressful game! Though Captain Phillips, who I adore, did not have a great night. He has been lately burdened with coming in during incredible difficult spots, and he was called on in the 9th, up 19 (yes, you read that right), which is difficult but in a very different way. I am sad that he has been sent down, but I am also very much not sad that Houck is on the way to start today and that Richards will not be making the start today.
The Sox came out swingin’ it. Three straight doubles to start the game. Kikè - Gapper, Renfroe - down the line, Bogey - to the triangle. Absolutely love to see it. Honestly I don’t know how Bogey hit this that far.
That ball was up and in tight, just an easy swing 400+ feet. Not many guys can do that. Getting Bogey going is going to do wonders for this offense.
The last two weeks have been horrible, and hopefully last night was not an anomaly, but some good things definitely happened! The Sox have been particularly unlucky the last couple weeks. It was a prolonged stretch where all the right-bouncing-balls from the first 4 months of the season decided to just not. Last night when the Sox were up 5 in the 4th, Marwin and Bobby both got some super cheapy bloop hits.
That, right there, accounted for 5 runs. Again, so nice to have something go the Sox way. Once it got to 10, the game became a laugher, and nothing after that, offensively, is super meaningful other than this gem.
Don’t worry Randy… we’ve all been there.
A couple additional thoughts.
Bobby said after the game that they haven’t felt as discouraged as we have been. I’m not sure what else he would say, but it did make me think. Losing close crushing games as a fan is miserably horrible. You have to deal with the stress of the entire game, then to lose, it’s just horrible. However, as a player, getting your brains beat in night in and night out, poor Orioles fans, it’s just numbing. As a player it’s good to feel like you are in it, and to experience crushing defeat from time to time. I’m feeling more positive today, than I was yesterday! But I could be back in the gutter this evening! It’s a fickle game out here people!
I also want to pay some respect to Chris “Crush” Davis who announced his retirement this morning.
This dude at his peak was unbelievable. He hit balls out that literally had no business even being touched.
You don’t just do ☝️.
Thanks Crush, even though you started the 2011 rally with a double off of Pap, that was one of the most crushing nights/seasons in the history of the Sox franchise/my life. I will never forgive you or the Orioles for that.