BOS Vs TB Series Recap: Bello Bailed Out. Sox Sweep.
The Red Sox have swept the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field for the first time since 2019. As I alluded to in previous blogs, the recent eight games against Tampa has given us a much better idea about what this Red Sox team is. While a series sweep against a sub .500 team in May is no indication of title contender, it certainly will have Red Sox fans buying into the ball club for (what should be) an entertaining summer of baseball. While this series had a few low moments, it was mostly a positive experience for Red Sox fans. Let’s get into some of the details….
DEFENSE:
Positives:
Overall, this was a clean series. No errors were committed by the Red Sox during this sweep.
Interesting…. It’s almost like playing mistake free baseball leads to better results.
Negatives:
Bello has to cover the first base bag….
It isn’t a good look for him to be mad at his teammates following his own mental error.
STARTING PITCHING:
Positives:
Tanner Houck is a complete stud, and the ace of the Red Sox rotation.
Last October, it felt like I was one of the only Sox fans who was completely unwilling to part with Tanner Houck. Many were including Houck as part of a theoretical package to acquire Soto or Cease, but I’m very glad that nothing ever came of that.
Cooper Criswell got back on track against his former team, limiting them to 2 ER in 5.1 innings of work.
In the first game of the series, Tanner Houck went 7 innings, allowing only three baserunners.
Negatives:
Brayan Bello looked rough in the third inning, including a mental mistake/effort play that was really discouraging.
During the third inning, it felt like things were really falling apart for Bello. Thankfully, he pulled himself together and received an abnormal amount of run support.
He did good to settle in for 3 innings of scoreless ball, giving the Red Sox a chance to win.
THE PEN:
Positives:
Two clean innings for Greg Weissert has allowed him to start regaining my trust. It feels like only a matter of time before he loses it again, but today isn’t a day for Greg Weissert negativity.
Justin Slaten returned to form in garbage time of the first game.
He shut the Rays down in the 8th and 9th, allowing only one baserunner in 2 innings of work.
Both Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen put together clean innings in this series.
Negatives:
Zack Kelly and Cam Booser each gave up a run in garbage time of the third game. Not particularly alarming, but I’m sure they would have liked to prevent that.
AT THE PLATE:
Positives:
Jarren Duran is the kind of player that opposing teams have to game plan against. He is such a weapon.
He seems to be hitting the ball harder now that he has tweaked his swing. I personally don’t think it needed tweaking. A guy with Duran’s speed should try to hit for average (in my opinion).
Ceddanne Rafaela got his bat going again. He recorded 4 hits in the series, including a two-run dagger shot in the first game.
Rafaela’s homer in game one of the series really set the tone for the rest of the three game set.
Wilyer Abreu also hit a two run homer, coming in the final game of the series. Abreu amassed 4 RBIs in the series, making him my choice for MVP of the series.
Rafael Devers set the Red Sox record for home runs in consecutive games, passing Boston legend Bobby Dalbec. His two run shot in the first game helped propel the Sox to a game one victory.
Rob Refsnyder always seems to deliver when you least expect him to. I am a big fan of him as a player.
Connor Wong was good in this series, driving in a couple of runs and getting to rest for the middle game.
Negatives:
Vaughn Grissom had a single hit (with an RBI) to show for his seven plate appearances in the series.
Is he still hurt? Is he still sick with the Flu? Either way, this guy needs to get it together a bit.
David Hamilton failed to replicate his magical series in St Louis. I wasn’t expecting him to, but it would have been really cool.
Tyler O’Neill is ICE cold…. 0-8 in the series with 4 strikeouts…. He might be the streakiest hitter I’ve seen in a long time.
Dominic Smith probably contributed enough to keep him out of the negatives, but he is just so un-inspiring. Watching Dom Smith step up to the plate gives me no confidence.
Overall, there aren’t a lot of bad things to say about the Red Sox in this series. They delivered good results with some solid pitching, and some elite offensive production. This level of traffic on the base paths is going to be hard to sustain going home to play Milwaukee, but I am very interested to see what happens next. Had the Red Sox lost this series against Tampa, I think my outlook on this Boston team as a whole would be a lot different. Reclaiming third place in the division is huge for my mental health. If the Red Sox can find a way to finish the season in third place, it will have been a successful year in my eyes. I do think that this team is capable of taking third place in the AL East, and competing for a wildcard spot up until the end of the summer. For now, the Red Sox are an incredibly interesting product with a lot of entertainment value. If you aren’t watching, you are missing out.
