Red Sox Recap: Henry Owens out-duels Johnny Cueto for his first Fenway win
Aug 16, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Henry Owens (60) delivers against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Red Sox may not have an ace on their staff, but their offense has been up to the challenge of facing opposing team’s top starters on this homestand. Over the past week the red hot Red Sox have roughed up Felix Hernandez and Corey Kluber. Now they can add Johnny Cueto to that list.
The Red Sox struck first with a line drive off the left field wall by Blake Swihart to drive in the first run of the game. The relay throw was off the mark and Rusney Castillo was able to take advantage of the miscue to add an extra run, as Swihart cruised into second. The Royals are typically known for being a strong defensive team, but they looked sloppy in allowing the Red Sox to get off to an early lead. Boston would score their third run of the inning when Mookie Betts hit a sinking liner to left that clanked off the glove of Paulo Orlando.
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Henry Owens had held the Royals hitless until Ben Zobrist‘s double to lead off the 4th inning. If anyone was going to return the favor for the poor defense that led to the Red Sox earlier runs, of course it would be Hanley Ramirez. It appeared as if Zobrist was going to hold up at third base on a base hit by Eric Hosmer, but his third base coach waved him home once he saw Ramirez bobble the ball in left.
The bottom of the inning was Lorenzo Cain‘s turn to have a rough time defensively. First he allowed a fly ball from Castillo to get over his head and bounce into the center field triangle for a triple. That was followed by a base hit by Swihart to drive in Castillo, then two batters later came a bloop base hit from Betts. Cain covered a lot of distance trying to make a play, only to come up short and inadvertently knock the ball further away from him as he swiped at it with his glove, allowing Swihart to score all the way from first base.
Next: Summary Continued
Aug 9, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Josh Rutledge (30) at bat against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Alcides Escobar led off the 6th inning with a solo shot to straight away center field. It was only the third homer of the year for Escobar, which came on a fastball over the plate on a 3-1 count. Yet just when you think the Royals are starting to chip away at the lead, the Red Sox open the flood gates again. Josh Rutledge is making a name for himself as the Cueto Crusher, picking up his second hit of the game on a two-run homer over the Green Monster to put Boston ahead 7-2.
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Boston battered around Cueto, who surrendered a season-high 7 runs (6 earned) and allowed a career-high 13 hits. Hopefully this nightmare at Fenway Park doesn’t dissuade Cueto from considering a move to Boston when he hits the free agent market this winter.
Jackie Bradley, Jr. replaced Ramirez in left field to start the 8th inning and immediately made his mark with an outstanding diving catch. Safe to say Ramirez wouldn’t have gotten to that one. It remains a mystery why someone as gifted with the glove as Bradley is would be stuck on the bench behind a defensive disaster like Ramirez. Boston’s excuse is that they need Ramirez’s bat in the middle of the lineup. The problem with that is that Bradley has been tearing it up at the plate this month, while Ramirez has gone ice cold.
Owens was dominant in picking up his first career win at Fenway against the team with the best record in the American League, out-dueling Kansas City’s prized mid-season acquisition, who now leads their staff. The Red Sox continue their recent dominance over the Royals, moving to 4-1 this season against the best team in the league.
Next: Game Notes
Aug 21, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) reacts after the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Game Notes:
- Cueto entered the game owning a 1.80 ERA in his first 4 starts since being acquired by the Royals from Cincinnati. Counting his time with the Reds, his 2.46 ERA was good for 9th best in the majors. Once the Red Sox got done with him, that ERA inflated to 2.70, dropping him to 12th in the league.
- Josh Rutledge singled in his first plate appearance, after entering the game 3-for-3 in his career against Cueto. With a pair of hits against the Royals ace tonight, Rutledge is now 5-for-6 against Cueto in his career.
- Ramirez is now 18-for-94 (.121) at the plate since the break. His last home run was on July 11. His last dozen at-bats have ended with 9 ground outs, 2 strikeouts and a popup. Most of the players on this Red Sox roster have stepped it up lately to impress new President of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski. Ramirez is not one of them, as he’s done little to convince the new boss that he should keep him around beyond this season.
- Ramirez and David Ortiz were the only Red Sox hitters that were held without a hit tonight. Boston had four players in their lineup with multi-hit games: Betts, Castillo, Swihart, and Rutledge. Those four were a combined 11-for-17 tonight.
- The Red Sox piled up 14 hits, but failed to draw a walk. They had at least one walk in every game on this homestand entering tonight.
- Boston has now won 4 straight and can pull to within 7 games of the second Wild Card spot, pending the result of the Angels game later tonight. Sure, it’s a long shot, but with 40 games left there’s still time to make a run and at least make things interesting down the stretch.
Next: Grades
Aug 9, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart (23) at bat against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Grades:
STARTING PITCHING . A-. . Game Ball. Henry Owens
Owens lasted 8 innings for the longest outing of his young career, surrendering only one earned run. He also topped 100 pitches for the first time in his major league career. The 4 strikeouts isn’t nearly as impressive as when he hit double-digits last time out, but he only walked 1 batter. For the season he now has a 21:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Most impressive was the poise he showed on the mound when matched up against not only one of the best teams in the league, but also one of it’s best pitchers. Boston’s offense did more than enough to lead the way, but Owens still held up his end.
A-. . Game Ball. Heath Hembree. RELIEF PITCHING
The bullpen got a break tonight with Owens handling the heavy lifting. Hembree came in to protect a 5-run lead in the 9th, retiring the side in order and picking up a strikeout. He threw only 10 of his 17 pitches for strikes, but he got the job done. It’s rare that we can say that about Red Sox relievers these days. Boston’s bullpen has been struggling lately, so getting the opportunity to give most of their relievers the night off is a big plus.
Game Ball. Blake Swihart. OFFENSE . A.
The rookie catcher recorded the second 4-hit game of his career, driving in a pair of runs and scoring three times in the process. Since coming off the disabled list about a month ago, Swihart is hitting .338/.384/.456, while earning the bulk of the playing time behind the dish. He doubled twice tonight, giving him 14 for the season in 201 at-bats. The home run power isn’t there yet for the 23-year old, but he’s quickly developing the ability to line balls into the gap for extra-bases.