Red Sox show versatility in Patriots’ Day clash with Orioles
With injuries and sickness hitting the Boston Red Sox all at once, they were forced to show some versatility in today’s series finale against Baltimore.
Well, friends, this has been the dictionary definition of a failure as far as this Red Sox homestand is concerned. While facing two teams that will undoubtedly find their way to the bottom of the division by season’s end, Boston was only able to achieve a 3-3 record. It’s just unacceptable for a defending World Series Champion to have such a poor showing against awful teams.
Looking at the difficulty of schedule when heading into the homestand it was totally realistic to walk away 5-1 or even 4-2, but 3-3 is just not good at all. With the first series against the Yankees set to begin on Tuesday in the Bronx, there’s just no more room for the type of play that the Red Sox continue to churn out. But today’s Patriots’ Day game against the Orioles created a new issue for the Red Sox.
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Jackie Bradley Jr. was still out with flu-like symptoms and Eduardo Nunez would find himself feeling under the weather as well. Andrew Benintendi was kept off the roster for today to allow him a day to recover from the nasty foul ball he took off his foot in yesterday’s win. Dustin Pedroia was also kept out of the field today to try and give the veteran second baseman some rest as well. So, no JBJ, Nunez, Benintendi, and half of Pedroia were what Alex Cora had to work with, that’s where things got interesting.
To handle the loss of Benny, AC plugged in Steve Pearce who has played outfield and handled the call of duty well today. Cora would then plug usual designated hitter J.D. Martinez into right field and shifted Mookie Betts over to center to fill in for JBJ. A bit of a makeshift outfield but not awful and again Pearce and Martinez are well versed in the outfield. Things got really weird when it came to who would fill in at second base.
I’m sure if you hadn’t checked the box score or watched/listened to the game you would assume it was Brock Holt, and that’s a great guess, but wrong. Christian Vazquez played second base for the Boston Red Sox in the year 2019! Boston has used Vazquez at third base during his tenure in Beantown though very rarely, but this would mark the first time he would take on second. And he did a pretty damn good job for a guy who probably found out he wouldn’t be catching moments before the game.
So now we have the outfield and infield covered and still have gaps at DH and catcher. That’s where Blake Swihart and Dustin Pedroia step in. Though he didn’t play in the field, Pedroia did get some reps in at the plate and even batted in the lead-off spot. Swihart being the backup catcher as it is had the easiest day of anyone that needed to alter their usual assignment.
This was just another hurdle that the Red Sox needed to jump and though they did get smacked by the Orioles 8-1, they still proved that they believe in Cora and this team. Everyone was willing to jump in and do whatever was needed of them by the team. Though I don’t see AC needing to be as drastic with his tactics in the future, it’s a relief for not only him but the Fenway Faithful that we have a squad that can adapt to any situation.
I know many of you are saying that there is a lot of season left and it’s not over until all 162 games are played. And I fully agree, there is a lot of time left. I believe that you can’t win a season in April but you can sure as hell lose it. And at this rate, the Red Sox aren’t looking too hot in their title defense campaign. But we know how this game goes, a cold April could lead to a monster May and next thing you know we’re on top of the division. We gotta keep the faith just as we always do.
Next. Red Sox starter Hector Velazquez lasts three inefficient innings. dark
Other than Tampa Bay the rest of the AL East is within striking distance at the moment. A good series against the Yankees could be exactly what the Red Sox need in order to get the engines firing. This is a good team that can achieve great things they just need to remember who they are and what they’re capable of. A team effort like today’s even in a loss could mean great deals down the road when the serious baseball begins.