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Boston Red Sox: Three up, three down since the All-Star Break

By Josh Greenberg

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 05: David Price #24 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on August 5, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 05: David Price #24 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on August 5, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JULY 27: Ryan Brasier #70 of the Boston Red Sox pitches at the top of the of the seventh inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park on July 27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 27: Ryan Brasier #70 of the Boston Red Sox pitches at the top of the of the seventh inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park on July 27, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Up: Ryan Brasier

One of the reasons Dave Dombrowski declined to pick up a reliever before the trade deadline could be the emergence of Ryan Brasier. The rookie reliever has spent about a month in the big leagues and has helped steady a bullpen that was having issues getting the ball to the closer.

Brasier has a grand total of just 12.2 innings under his belt this season, which admittedly is a small sample size, and only nine more in the rest of his Major League career (back in 2013 with the Los Angeles Angels). However, it would hardly be inaccurate to describe his performance thus far as sterling.

Brasier has allowed just two earned runs in 12.2 innings of work, has racked up nine strikeouts against five walks, and has surrendered only seven hits. He’s not the fireballing strikeout artists most dominant relievers seem to be these days, but he induces more ground ball than fly balls and keeps the ball in the yard. A reliever doesn’t have to blow batters away to be effective.

If Brasier keeps going at this rate, if Matt Barnes continues his strong work, and if Joe Kelly returns to form, the Red Sox bullpen will be just fine.

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