Red Sox Strut: First baseman Mitch Moreland, RHP Doug Fister
By Sean Penney
Position Player who gets to Strut
Mitch Moreland is heating up again after a toe injury derailed his performance in July.
The veteran first baseman went 6-for-20 (.300) last week with three home runs and five RBI. Maybe we need to update his Players Weekend uniform to say Four-Bags.
Wednesday’s 6-1 final score may give the impression that the Red Sox ran away with the victory, but that wasn’t the case. Boston struggled to do much of anything against Indians ace Corey Kluber until Moreland’s solo shot in the fifth inning. The Red Sox would do most of their damage against Cleveland’s bullpen, but it was Moreland that got the offense going.
The following night was an ugly loss for the Red Sox as Sale imploded against Cleveland. Moreland ensured it wasn’t a complete disaster by collecting three hits, including a pair of home runs. He drove in four of Boston’s six runs to at least create the illusion that a comeback was possible.
If the home runs weren’t enough, Moreland showed his versatility by pitching a scoreless inning in Friday’s loss to Baltimore. It was the second time in his career that Moreland has pitched in a major league game. He kept his scoreless streak going, but don’t expect him to extend it further anytime soon.