Red Sox Strut: Outfielder Mookie Betts, LHP Chris Sale
The weekly article series where we examine two players who deserve to strut their stuff for the Boston Red Sox. This week – Mookie Betts, Chris Sale.
If you want to fully understand what the Red Sox Strut is, it means to have reason to walk with a confident, proud air around you. Some people mistake it for vanity, arrogance, or being pompous. This incorrect assumption is not what we mean. The Strut is about knowing that your deeds showed off your amazing skills to the baseball-loving public.
The Boston Red Sox are riding high on a five-game win streak, winning seven of their last eight games to take a three game lead in the division standings.
Boston is firing on all cylinders as they storm through their final road trip before the All-Star break. The offense has scored 6+ runs in six of their last seven games. The pitching staff has been doing their part as well, allowing three runs or less in five of their last eight. This includes a 15-1 shellacking of the Blue Jays up in Toronto over the weekend.
With so many offensive explosions and strong pitching performances there will be many players to give credit to, but only two can Strut this week.
Position Player Candidates
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Red Sox manager John Farrell claims that Monday night’s performance in Texas was one of the best he’s seen from Dustin Pedroia. While that may be a bit of an exaggeration considering the number of outstanding performances we’ve witnessed from the four-time All-Star, there’s no denying that finding a hitter hotter than Pedroia right now is no easy task. Pedroia hit .435/.606/.565 with three doubles and 10 RBI over his last six games. He drew 10 walks and only struck out once. The veteran second baseman continues to deliver timely hitting and Gold Glove caliber defense.
Who says that Deven Marrero can’t hit? Defense is the calling card that earned him a spot in the lineup, but lately he’s out to prove that his bat isn’t a complete liability. Marrero went 11-for-26 (.423) with three doubles and seven RBI over this past week. He also stole a couple of bags and dropped down a bunt base hit to show how his speed can be an asset. This recent hot streak has carried his batting average over the Mendoza Line. If he continues to hit at anywhere near this level while providing his usual stellar defense, the Red Sox may think twice about overpaying for one of the mediocre options available on the trade market at the deadline.
When everyone says you can't hit and you come through with a double and a couple of RBI. #RedSox pic.twitter.com/AbmZf6eTGi
— Sean Penney (@spenney83) June 30, 2017
Apparently all it takes to get Hanley Ramirez going is for the media to point out how poorly he’s been hitting. He’s been lighting it up ever since, batting .400 with a 1.183 OPS, two homers and three doubles over his last seven games.
Jackie Bradley finished up a torrid month of June in which he hit .353 with a 1.009 OPS. He hasn’t carried that momentum with him into July, but still owns a .364 average and .885 OPS over the last seven games.
Position Player who gets to Strut
What a week it has been for Mookie Betts. First he was named as an All-Star reserve for the American League team, then was bumped up into the starting lineup as a replacement for the injured Mike Trout. It will be the second All-Star appearance for Betts and he’ll have been a starter in both of them. Ted Williams is the only other Red Sox player to start multiple All-Star games before the age of 25.
Betts celebrated the honor by delivering his best week of the season. He hit .448/.553/.862 with three home runs, three doubles, three steals and 11 RBI to earn the AL Player of the Week award.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/881940313836834817
During Sunday’s 15-1 blowout of the Blue Jays, he tied the major league record for most RBIs by a leadoff hitter in a single game with eight. Betts had an eight-RBI game last August after being moved toward the middle of the lineup. His two career eight-RBI performances matches Nomar Garciaparra for the franchise record.
Betts was 4-for-6 with two home runs in that game. The first was a three-run blast in the fourth inning after Deven Marrero and Tzu-Wei Lin reached on bunt singles, prompting Betts to briefly consider if he should drop down a bunt as well. While you can understand the logic of trying to catch the opponent off guard – who would ever see three straight bunts coming? – the Red Sox are glad he decided to swing away.
Pitching Candidates
Drew Pomeranz picked up a win in each of his outings last week to move to 8-4 on the season. He totaled 11 innings between the two starts, allowing only 1 earned run and tallying 10 strikeouts. The lefty has now allowed two runs or less in nine of his last 10 starts and owns a 3.64 ERA that ranks 11th in the league. He’s also fifth in the league among qualified starters with a 9.86 K/9 this season. The critics who bemoaned the trade for Pomeranz and wanted to run him out of town are slowly starting to fade away.
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We’re still waiting to see David Price return to form but there are signs he’s getting closer. He’s lasted at least five innings in every start this season and only once has allowed more than three runs. He turned in his second consecutive quality start last week, holding the Minnesota Twins to three runs on six hits over seven innings to earn the win. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. Price’s overall season numbers still look bad in a small sample size due to one brutal outing in the Bronx. Take that away and he’s not far off from what we would expect him to produce.
Matt Barnes has also been showing signs of improvement lately. Much has been made about his drastic home/road splits this season, but his last two road appearances were promising. He tossed two innings in Friday’s extra-innings game in Toronto and got the final two outs of the seventh inning in relief of Rick Porcello on Monday.
Blaine Boyer notched his first win in a Red Sox uniform by tossing two scoreless frame of relief Friday night. He worked five innings out of the bullpen over the last week without allowing a run.
Pitcher who gets to Strut
Left-handed pitcher Chris Sale‘s week was highlighted by being named to his sixth consecutive All-Star appearance and first as a member of the Red Sox.
If you've watched him throw this season, you'll know why he's #ASGworthy!
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 2, 2017
⭐️ Congrats, Chris Sale! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/q8FwqO591Z
In his only start of the week, Sale shut out the Blue Jays over seven innings on Saturday to notch his 11th win. He allowed only four hits and a walk, while striking out 11 batters. It was the 11th time this season that Sale has recorded a double-digit strikeout game.
Sale currently leads the league in strikeouts and WHIP. He’s also second in ERA, wins and pitching WAR. He has built a solid case to earn the start in the midsummer classic and should be available given his last start before the break comes on Thursday.
He’s been an All-Star before and he even started the game last year. One thing Sale hasn’t done is win a Cy Young award. He should be considered the front runner heading into the break, which is one of many reasons why Sale can Strut all the way to Miami for the All-Star festivities.