BOS Vs STL Series Recap: I Owe David Hamilton An Apology.
Apology
There is a lot to get to with this series, but I want to start off by officially apologizing to David Hamilton. Aside from my most recent blog, I have dumped on David Hamilton repeatedly. For a while, I was genuinely angry that David Hamilton was on this baseball team. I have written many-a rant about David Hamilton’s defense at both middle infield positions. In the last week however, David Hamilton has done a complete 180, and showed me a side of his game that I didn’t realize existed.
Prior to the first Tampa series, It didn’t make any sense to me as to why David Hamilton was awarded the ‘Defensive Player Of The Year’ award in Worcester. Over the last two series, Hamilton has showed exactly why it is that he received that honor. Hamilton has looked as sharp as a knife at both middle infield spots. I’m not sure if he is gaining confidence or just becoming more comfortable, but I am really happy to see Hamilton progress like this. If he can remain this reliable in the field, then his base running alone should be a good enough reason to keep him on the big league roster. Beyond that, Hamilton was electric at the plate. So… to conclude this small rant, I am sorry David Hamilton….
“I am owe you (David Hamilton) an apology. I wasn’t familiar with your game”
Getting into the actual meat and potatoes of the series, this was a rough one. The Bullpen in particular was a complete mess throughout this series. While it was nice to see the Red Sox score some runs for once, the first game saw the Sox find a new way to lose. The middle game was pretty much a disaster as soon as the bullpen took over, with Justin Slaten’s alarming downward trend continuing. I would love to give the Red Sox all the credit for winning the third and final game of the series, however, the Cardinals really beat themselves more than the Sox beat them. I mean, some of the defensive mistakes made by St. Louis on Sunday were completely ridiculous. After seeing how shambolic the Cardinals can look, it’s a massive disappointment that the Red Sox didn’t win this series. This is just the type of series that the Sox are going to need to win consistently if they want to have any shot at competing for a playoff spot this summer.
DEFENSE:
Positives:
David Hamilton followed up a solid performance in the Tampa series with the best series of his career. I am completely blown away.
Aside from one minor miscue, Hamilton looked amazing both in the field, and at the plate.
Jarren Duran’s glove shined once again in this series. He continues to impress me with his growth as a player.
Will Flemming compared Duran to some MVP caliber players, and, (although this is a bit silly) I kind of don’t blame him. Duran has been THAT good.
Vaughn Grissom made an error at second base in game one of the series, but, despite this, I still am feeling better about his improvement in the field.
I have noticed that his motions when fielding ground balls (especially up the middle) is starting to look a lot smoother.
Connor Wong might have one of the best pop-time to arm power ratio in the MLB. He is fantastic at throwing runners out on the bases, and he continued to put that on display in this series.
Negatives:
In the middle game, Rob Refsnyder made a fool of himself attempting to field a rolling ball in the outfield. I don’t want to be over-critical of a guy who has done a lot for this team, but this one was embarrassing.
STARTING PITCHING:
Positives:
Kutter Crawford returned to form in this series, pitching five and two thirds innings while only allowing a single run to score on a solo shot.
Nick Pivetta posted a very similar line, going six innings with his only mistake coming on a solo shot. However, unlike Crawford, Pivetta had his strikeout stuff in this game, striking out eight batters.
Negatives:
Brayan Bello got shelled in the first game of the series, allowing 7 hits, and 5 earned runs. Bello also gave up THREE homers in this game. Not a good start for Bello.
Red Sox opening day starter Brayan Bello has been arguably the most disappointing starting pitcher on the staff so far. Hopefully he can turn it around soon.
THE PEN:
Positives:
Zack Kelly did, in fact, pitch in this series. It’s hardly worth mentioning though, since they only asked him to record a single out.
Chris Martin looked good in a garbage-time 9th inning on Sunday, striking out the side to close out the win for Boston.
Negatives:
Despite a clean inning on Sunday, Cam Booser had a rough outing on Friday, posting a stat line of: 1.1 IP, 3H, 1HR, 2ER.
Booser’s rough Friday night foreshadowed some really shaky bullpen work throughout the series.
After Booser was pulled on Friday, Chase Anderson came in and continued to stink up Busch Stadium.
Anderson pitched two innings, allowing three hits, walking three batters, and ultimately surrendering three runs.
Justin Slaten’s downward trend continues…. This is something that I’ve been keeping an eye on. I am starting to get very worried. Slaten established himself as an important piece of this bullpen in April, but May has not been kind to him thus far.
Brennan Bernardino made an uncharacteristic error in the middle game, but I have a hard time being critical of Bernardino. He has been so reliable for the Red Sox for some time now.
Greg Weissert looked shaky in garbage time of the final game, allowing two runs on four hits in a single inning of work.
AT THE PLATE:
Positives:
Rafael Devers has now hit home runs in FIVE consecutive games. If his bat can stay this hot, the Red Sox offense should be able to continue producing runs.
Despite being less than useful in game one of the series, Garrett Cooper came through on Sunday, delivering a two hits and an RBI in Boston’s lone win.
Connor Wong struggled in the middle game of the series, but was phenomenal on both Friday and Sunday.
In those two games, Wong went a combined 6-9 with a walk.
Not only was David Hamilton sharp in the field, he also swung the bat very well in this series.
In this series David Hamilton went: 4-7 with 3 RBI, two doubles, a triple, and a home run,
Dominic Smith didn’t have a great series, but delivered a bases clearing RBI triple on Sunday.
Tyler O’Neill struggled in games one and two, but was exceptional on Sunday.
On Sunday, O’Neill went 3-3 with two walks and a homer against his former team.
Romy Gonzalez has had an underrated bat ever since he made his Red Sox debut. He has given them a nice spark at times.
Rob Refsnyder had a decent series, recording a hit in each of the three games.
Jarren Duran has been so reliable. He always provides something for the team. In this series, Duran demonstrated just how valuable he can be.
Devers has tied Red Sox legend Bobby Dalbec for the ‘home runs in consecutive games’ record, with five homers in five days.
Negatives:
The struggles continue for Vaughn Grissom, who (aside from a decent game one) failed to reach base in eight at bats.
Wilyer Abreu struggled in the first two games of the series. He’s had a very rough May so far in general. With that said, Abreu had a solid game three after coming in as a pinch hitter for Garrett Cooper.
Ceddanne Rafaela did not record a hit in the series.
Overall, this series can be looked at in whatever lens you choose. While I am disappointed with the end results of the series, there are definitely some things to build on here. I was entertained watching this series. What worries me greatly however, is whether or not this team can remain entertaining if they completely fall out of Wild Card contention. We’ve seen Alex Cora’s Red Sox crumble into dust in the late summer of the last two seasons. While we aren’t close to that point yet, I question how long the Red Sox can stay out of the deep end. If this team can win the next series in Tampa Bay, things might be headed in the right direction.
