Red Sox look to win the battle of the Sox
The Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox in a four game series at Fenway Park.
The stakes may not be quite as high as they were for Jon Snow in the battle for Winterfell during Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones, but this battle at Fenway isn’t lacking in importance for a Boston Red Sox team caught in a tight division race.
Fresh off of taking two out of three against the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, the Red Sox wrap up the homestand with four games against the struggling Chicago White Sox. Boston sits a game behind the division leading Baltimore Orioles and only two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays in a competitive AL East.
Chicago raced out to a blistering start this season and led the AL Central as recently as May 27, only for their lead to quickly crumble. After getting swept in Cleveland over the weekend, the White Sox are now three games under .500 and five games behind the Indians for the division lead.
This presents the Red Sox with a prime opportunity to take advantage of a team trending in the wrong direction, but the White Sox are not to be underestimated. They still have quality pitching, which we can’t always say about this Red Sox team. On paper it would seem that the White Sox are at a disadvantage heading into this series, with a roster that is over-matched by the talent on Boston’s side.
Then again, so was Jon Snow.
Next: Pitching Matchups
Pitching Matchups
Monday, June 20 @ 7:10 PM: Steven Wright (8-4, 2.22 ERA) vs Miguel Gonzalez (1-2, 4.74 ERA)
Tuesday, June 21 @ 7:10 PM: Clay Buchholz (3-6, 5.86 ERA) vs Chris Sale (11-2, 2.94 ERA)
Wednesday, June 22 @ 7:10 PM: Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 6.97 ERA) vs Jose Quintana (5-7, 2.63 ERA)
Thursday, June 23 @ 1:35 PM: Rick Porcello (8-2, 3.76 ERA) vs James Shields (2-9, 6.28 ERA)
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The once banished Buchholz makes his return to the Red Sox rotation this week after every option the team attempted to replace him with failed miserably. The veteran certainly wasn’t thrilled with his move to the bullpen, but rather than allow his sulking behavior to affect him on the mound, Buchholz actually thrived. He allowed only 3 earned runs over 9 1/3 innings of relief, including 3 shutout innings in his last appearance on June 16.
Buchholz’s first start since rejoining the rotation won’t be an easy one, as he’ll be tasked with matching up against White Sox ace Chris Sale. The good news is that Sale hasn’t been his usual dominant self of late. He has surrendered at least 4 runs in three of his last five starts, owning a 6.06 ERA over that span. The Red Sox were lucky enough to avoid him the last time they faced Chicago this season and may now be fortunate to catch him while he’s struggling.
Speaking of struggling pitchers, James Shields has been a disaster since Chicago acquired him from the San Diego Padres last month. He’s allowed at least 6 earned runs in all three of his starts, failed to go more than two innings in two of those starts and owns a brutal 21.82 ERA with his new team. Talk about buyers remorse!
Shields was a pitcher that was once rumored to be in consideration for a Red Sox team in need of another starter. I personally never liked the idea of trading for him and his horrendous performance thus far has only validated those concerns.
Next: Series Notes
Series Notes
- Mookie Betts has 50 RBI so far this season, most among lead-off hitters and fifth most overall in the American League. This puts him on a pace for 119 RBI for the season. No major league hitter has recorded 100 RBI from the lead-off spot since Darin Erstad became the first to do it in 2000.
- Brock Holt (concussion) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment in Pawtucket Monday night. He’ll be limited to 5 innings in the first game and 7 innings on Tuesday before an off day on Wednesday. Holt will then play a full 9 innings on Thursday before being reevaluated. If all goes well by that point, he could rejoin the Red Sox lineup by this weekend.
- Rusney Castillo cleared waivers, was outrighted off the major league roster and sent to Pawtucket. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster and provides a bit more financial flexibility, as his burdensome contract no longer counts toward the luxury tax.
- The Red Sox may still trail the Orioles by a game in the standings, but their +83 run differential leads the league by a mile. The next closest team in the AL is the Seattle Mariners at +54 and the only team in the majors with a better run differential is the Chicago Cubs at a staggering +171.
- Chicago’s sputtering offense has been a primary factor in the team’s drop in the standings. The White Sox rank 12th in the league with 279 runs scored, 13th in batting average (.243) and next to last in both OPS (.698) and home runs (62).
Next: Key Hitters
Key Hitters
Red Sox: David Ortiz
Ortiz connected on career home run No. 521 on Friday, moving him into a tie for 19th on the all-time list with Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas and the greatest hitter in Red Sox history, Ted Williams.
Big Papi is having a monster farewell season, leading the league with a 1.133 OPS. He’s also second in batting average (.342) and RBI (59), while ranking 4th in homers (18). Perhaps most impressive is that he’s tied for 6th with a 3.3 WAR, despite not having any defensive metrics to boost his value.
White Sox: Todd Frazier
The prized addition to the White Sox lineup has lived up to expectations in the power department with 19 home runs and 44 RBI. Unfortunately, his production outside of the long ball has been a disaster. Frazier enters the series batting .197 with a .744 OPS that ranks outside the top 50 in the league.
Most of the issues Frazier is having are tied to his league-low .180 batting average on balls hit in play. Typically an abnormally low BABIP is a sign of bad luck, but a career-low 14.1 percent line drive rate has been the real culprit. Frazier is certainly capable of making hard contact, but he’s doing it less often this year. The home run totals are still there, but when he’s not smashing it out of the park he’s all too often getting himself out on harmless infield flies.
Next: Options to platoon in LF
Frazier has been the ultimate feast-or-famine hitter this season, but he still poses a threat to a Red Sox pitching staff that has allowed 27 home runs this month, tied for second most in the league.