BOS Vs ATL Series Recap: Pivetta Shelled, Devers Chokes.
The Boston Red Sox were swept in a quick two game series in Atlanta, and it looks like the wheels might finally be falling off for the Red Sox. Between Nick Pivetta’s disastrous return, and more indicators of a disturbing pattern for Rafael Devers, things are not looking so good for the Sox.
While it’s good to see old friend Chris Sale thriving in his new home, it isn’t so great to see the Red Sox get blown out and embarrassed in his start. With that said, the Vaughn Grissom trade should still be a win-win for both the Braves and Red Sox.
Let’s go over some of the ups and downs of the series…
DEFENSE:
Positives:
Ceddanne Rafaela is a blessing for this team. He is beginning to develop a bit of chemistry with Grissom, turning a couple of clean double plays in this series.
Zack Short being DFA’d for Romy Gonzalez is a move that I like both in the field and at the plate. However, I have no idea why Gonzalez is playing first base over Dominic Smith or Garrett Cooper… Even Bobby Dalbec is a better defensive option at first base.
Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Tyler O’Neill remain good defensive options in the outfield.
Both Wong and McGuire weren’t as bad behind the plate this series (which is an extremely low bar after the three games in Minnesota).
Negatives:
Rafael Devers looked confused at third base. This isn’t the first time. While it may have been a drop in the bucket, there is no doubt that Devers cost the team at least a couple runs in the 5-0 loss in the second game.
He didn’t make any huge errors, but there is something about Vaughn Grissom at second base that I don’t trust at all. His arm angle on throws to first is wild looking.
The team doesn’t seem to love either of the new first baseman (Cooper and Smith) in the field.
STARTING PITCHING:
Positives:
Despite a rough third inning, Kutter Crawford was able to collect himself and get through six innings, allowing only the two early runs.
Negatives:
Nick Pivetta got SHELLED in his return from injury. After giving up back to back bombs in the first inning to the white hot Ozuna and Arcia, Pivetta had the audacity to throw Ozuna another meatball.
I don’t suspect that Pivetta’s struggles will continue, but this isn’t the result Red Sox were hoping for on his return to the rotation.
THE PEN:
Positives:
Winckowski, Booser, Martin, Anderson, Bernardino, and Weissert all had a clean series. While Weissert and Bernardino combined for only one inning, I’d still like to give them credit for conceding nothing against such a potent lineup.
Negatives:
In recent days, Justin Slaten has started to struggle. He has pitched at an inhuman level so far this season, so it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Hopefully this isn’t a sign that teams are starting to figure Slaten out.
AT THE PLATE:
Positives:
Ceddanne Rafaela is no silver slugger candidate, but has consistently improved at the plate through the first months of the season. If Rafaela can stay on this trajectory, he will be a core piece of the Red Sox roster for years to come.
The mainstream media doesn’t want you to know that Ceddanne Rafaela is on a 7 game hitting streak…
Both Duran and Wong put together a nice series. Duran is hot, which usually spells success for the Red Sox offense. Unfortunately, it did little to help the Sox cause in this series.
I genuinely have no idea how Reese McGuire reaches base as much as he does.
Romy Gonzalez recorded a hit in his return to the lineup, which is a welcome change from the black hole that was Zack Short.
I am very happy that I don’t have to watch Zack Short take another at bat for this baseball team.
Negatives:
Wilyer Abreu’s hot streak is seemingly over. Aside from two walks, Wilyer failed to reach base in the series. I love the player, but this wasn’t a good couple of games for him.
Tyler O’Neill LOVES grounding into double plays. I don’t know what it is, but it feels like 75% of his at bats end with a perfect double play ball.
While Rafael Devers reached base three times in the series, he failed to deliver in the biggest moments. Between some big moments in this series, and the bases loaded situation in the middle game of the Twins series, its starting to become a pattern that Devers is shriveling in some of the biggest clutch moments.
Garrett Cooper recorded a hit for what feels like the first time in his Red Sox career, but I still think Bobby Dalbec could match his production at the plate, and provide a lot more in the field and on the bases.
If the ball Kelenic caught on the warning track had gone a couple of extra feet, my opinion on Cooper might be different.
Dominic Smith produced one walk in five at bats out of the DH spot in the first game of the series. Not great...
Vaughn Grissom didn’t have a great series, but I’m not worried about him yet.
Overall, this was a rough series for the Sox. Aside from my pro-Rafaela agenda getting a nice little boost, it’s hard to feel good about the Red Sox performance in these two games. The Braves are a great baseball team, and the Red Sox are not. It really is as simple as that. While the Red Sox are a good team, and a fun product to watch, they simply are not at the point where they can compete with the top tier teams in the league. I look forward to the day that we can look at a series like this as a potential world series preview. Unfortunately, the Red Sox just aren’t there yet.
