The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Boston Red Sox – INSIDE PITCH
With the trade deadline six weeks away, and with the Red Sox having already tried to replace closer Andrew Bailey last winter with out-for-the-season Joel Hanrahan, it’s fair to wonder whether they may look to do so again.
On June 10, Bailey had a two-run meltdown in the 10th inning against the Rays. Last Saturday, he gave up a solo homer to Orioles catcher Matt Wieters before finally saving a one-run nail-biter. And on Tuesday night, Bailey allowed a game-tying homer to Tampa Bay’s Kelly Johnson in the ninth inning of an eventual 3-1 victory.
Bailey didn’t mince words, lamenting that he has been “throwing balls down the middle.” Indeed, Wieters and Johnson punished fastballs that were left up and over the plate. But the oft-injured Bailey also insisted he’s healthy and added that his mechanics are sound.
If it’s a matter of confidence, manager John Farrell and Bailey’s teammates are doing their part to bolster it.
“His track record shows that it will turn around,” said lefty reliever Craig Breslow, Bailey’s teammate when he was an All-Star closer with the Athletics. “He’s left a couple pitches over the plate, and it seems like — when you’re in a string of bad luck, when you make a mistake — it’s capitalized on. I think you just trust that his career indicates that he’ll right this ship.”
Farrell said he “gave some thought” to sticking with starter Felix Doubront, who had thrown only 93 pitches in eight brilliant innings. But if Farrell had to do it again, chances are, he’d turn to Bailey.
“He’s our closer,” Farrell said. “Got some work to do. It’s the same pitch that he’s been beat on with the long ball the last two times out and we’ve got to get him more consistent, no doubt. But he’s our closer.”
Said outfielder Jonny Gomes, whose walk-off homer took Farrell and Bailey off the hook: “I got him as a dominant closer. I really do. Dominant stuff. With that being said, there’s two people in this league that aren’t going to struggle this year — one’s going to be MVP, and the other is going to be Cy Young. Everyone else is going to go through peaks and valleys. If you’ve got 24 other guys picking up a guy that’s down, you’ll be successful.”
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MLB Team Report – Boston Red Sox – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 44-30
STREAK: Lost one
PAST 10 GAMES: 5-5
NEXT: Red Sox (John Lackey, 4-5, 3.08) at Tigers (Jose Alvarez, 1-0, 1.50)
PLAYER NOTES:
–C David Ross, who was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list on Tuesday, will travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday to be examined by specialist Dr. Mickey Collins. Ross took a foul tip off his mask during Friday’s game in Baltimore. It is his second time on the concussion DL this season. He missed 11 games May 12-24.
–1B/OF Mike Carp was unavailable again for defense on Wednesday. He left Sunday’s game in Baltimore with cramping in his right hamstring. He could have been available to pinch-hit if necessary. Carp is batting .324 with eight home runs, 25 RBI, a .379 on-base percentage and .686 slugging percentage. He entered Wednesday with an eight-game on-base streak, in which he is hitting .393 (11-for-28) with a double, four home runs, eight RBI and four walks.
–IF Jose Iglesias went 0-for-2 with a walk, snapping his 18-game hitting streak. It had been the longest active hit streak in the majors, tied with Chicago’s Alex Rios for the longest by an American League player this season. Iglesias has reached base in a career-high 22 consecutive games, with a .431 average (31-for-72), six doubles, a home run, six RBI and seven walks. The 22-game streak is tied for the longest by a Red Sox this season, with Dustin Pedroia. It also marks the longest on-base streak by a Red Sox rookie since Jacoby Ellsbury’s 26-game run in 2007.
–C Jarrod Saltalamacchia caught all 27 innings in three games over the last two days, including both ends of Tuesday’s doubleheader. He doubled in the fourth inning Wednesday and now has 18 doubles in 57 games, surpassing his total in 121 games last year. His 18 doubles rank second among American League catchers.
–Alfredo Aceves was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket. Aceves was called up Tuesday as the 26th man for the doubleheader against the Rays. He started the first game, earning the win to improve to 4-1. He went five innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks, with two strikeouts.
–RHP John Lackey is scheduled to make his 12th start of the season Thursday in Detroit. He is 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 10 games against the Tigers, including five quality starts. The Tigers are hitting just .251 (63-for-251) against him. It is his second-best mark against an American League team, to his .235 mark against the A’s. He last faced Detroit on May 16, 2010, taking the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks in seven innings. In his last five starts, Lackey is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA (10 earned runs over 31 2/3 innings).
QUOTE TO NOTE: “He’s our closer. Got some work to do. It’s the same pitch that he’s been beat on with the long ball the last two times out and we’ve got to get him more consistent, no doubt. But he’s our closer.” — Manager John Farrell, on struggling closer Andrew Bailey.
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MLB Team Report – Boston Red Sox – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–1B Mike Carp (hamstring strain) left the June 16 game and did not play June 18 or 19.
–RHP Clay Buchholz (strained neck) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 9.
–C David Ross (concussion) went on the seven-day disabled list June 18.
–RHP Clayton Mortensen (right groin strain) went on the 15-day disabled list June 11. He said he has been pitching with the injury since the second week of the season.
–RHP Joel Hanrahan (right forearm strain) went on the 15-day disabled list May 7, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 9. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery May 16.
–OF Ryan Kalish (right shoulder surgery in January 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list Feb. 20. He has missed most of the past two seasons with shoulder and neck problems.
ROTATION:
LHP Jon Lester
RHP Ryan Dempster
RHP John Lackey
LHP Felix Doubront
BULLPEN:
RHP Andrew Bailey (closer)
RHP Junichi Tazawa
RHP Koji Uehara
LHP Andrew Miller
LHP Craig Breslow
LHP Franklin Morales
RHP Pedro Beato
RHP Alex Wilson
CATCHERS:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Ryan Lavarnway
INFIELDERS:
1B Mike Napoli
2B Dustin Pedroia
SS Stephen Drew
3B Will Middlebrooks
DH David Ortiz
INF Jose Iglesias
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Daniel Nava
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
RF Shane Victorino
OF Jonny Gomes
OF Mike Carp
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