Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays: MLB Post Game Analysis
The pitchers dominated the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, September 5 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario but a superb home-run effort by Brett Lawrie finally sealed it for the Blue Jays in the 11th inning.
Dan Wheeler failed for the second time this season as a wild pitch in the depth was rightfully hammered by Toronto’s third baseman Lawrie. The first ten innings did not see a single run being produced by either side which, given the postseason is approaching,
is a worrying sign for the Red Sox. Boston had been leading the American League for the most of the regular season and a shocking result against the struggling Blue Jays needs serious attention from the management.
Although the pitching’ staff was up to their task, a batting failure was never on the cards for the Red Sox, who are now struggling to keep pace with the New York Yankees in the AL East division. Tipped as being the strongest team in the AL at least, if
not the Majors, both teams are expected to shine in all departments of the game but Boston has heavily banked on its bull-pen while the Yankees are backing themselves with a strong batting line-up.
Josh Beckett was impressive yet-again for the visitors but was able to pitch into the fourth inning only before an ankle sprain forced him to leave the game. Beckett has been a sensation for Boston this season with 155 strike-outs at an ERA of 2.49 and this
will surely be a distressing situation for the manager. The right-handed starting pitcher has been Boston’s ace this season and the bull-pen will want him to return fit for his next start so that he does not loose rhythm before the postseason.
Daniel Bard was perfect in his spell of 1.2 innings and made a strong statement for his inclusion as a reliever for the postseason. Bard threw 14 pitches and managed 10 strikes to bring his ERA down to 2.10. Given the depth of their pitching outfit, it will
be interesting to see what options the manager exercises.
The worrying sign for the Red Sox was the failure of Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz against an ordinary pitching team. Gonzalez and Ortiz have been in prime form this season but both managed a single hit in four at-bats. Ortiz’s failure can be understood,
given his role of being a designated hitter but Gonzalez is better known for driving singles and doubles in crunch situations and his failure in this game might raise questions of complacency coming into play.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia also failed to make a mark in the game, both wasting their ten combined at-bats for just a solitary hit. The batting line-up needs to get in-line before their weaknesses are further exposed against stronger opposition.
Having said this, Henderson Alvarez deserves due applause for his brilliance from the mound. He threw 95 pitches over six spotless-innings to bring his earned-run average down to 2.95 for the season. He was, however, unlucky not to get a decision for his
performance.
Shawn Camp successfully kept the Red Sox silent in the 11th inning to win his third game of the season with as many losses already to his credit. He got limited chances this season but is expected to get an extended run when the Blue Jays shuffle
their roster for the next season.
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