Red Sox: 3 keys to beating the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS
By Sean Penney
Red Sox must play fundamentally sound defense
The Rays have been know for assembling strong defensive teams in recent years. The same cannot be said for the Red Sox, particularly this season.
Boston committed the most errors in the league and second-most in the majors with 108 this season. The league average was 88 and the Rays were well below that with 80 errors, fifth-fewest in the AL.
Rafael Devers was the worst offender, with his 22 errors ranking as the fifth most among all position players. Bobby Dalbec’s 12 errors were the second-most among first basemen. Hunter Renfroe matched those dozen errors, leading all major league outfielders.
The Red Sox collectively produced 7 defensive runs saved. Not horrible, but easily below the league average of 16. The Rays ranked fourth in the majors with 72 DRS.
Devers (-13 DRS), Dalbec (-7 DRS), and Xander Bogaerts (-5 DRS) all rated poorly in this metric.
The Red Sox lineup gets a boost with the return of J.D. Martinez, who missed the Wild Card game while recovering from an ankle injury. Unfortunately, trying to cram Martinez and Kyle Schwarber into the same lineup further derails the team’s shaky defense.
The outfield defense is a strength with the alignment of Alex Verdugo, Kike Hernandez and Renfroe. It quickly turns into a liability if Martinez or Schwarber is taking up a corner spot. It gets worse if Hernandez moves to second base to accommodate them with Verdugo or Renfore sliding to center.
Boston could keep their preferred outfield intact by putting Schwarber at first, but then you take Dalbec’s bat out of the lineup.
We know the Rays aren’t going to beat themselves by being careless. The Red Sox can’t give them an advantage by making mistakes on the field.