The new guy.
After dropping the first 2 games of the series on Monday and Tuesday, the Red Sox tried to salvage the third and final game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. Boston sent right-handed rookie Brandon Workman to the mound in search of his second win, while the Cubs opposed with the left-hander Travis Wood. Workman’s start, however, was short lived, as the Cubs tallied 6 runs on 5 hits over 4 innings against the 24 year old. In relief of Workman, the Red Sox bullpen couldn’t stop the Cubs offensive attack, and allowed 10 more runs to cross the plate on 14 hits. Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense did manage to push 9 runs across the plate, receiving contributions from Dustin Pedroia, Brock Holt, and Mookie Betts. However, the deficit dug by the Red Sox pitching staff proved to be insurmountable. Needless to say, the Chicago Cubs completed their 3 game sweep of the Red Sox, winning by a final of 16-9.
- Despite playing mediocre baseball all season long and recently being swept by the lowly Chicago Cubs, don’t expect the Red Sox to make big roster changes anytime soon. Red Sox manager John Farrell pointed out that the team hasn’t had a problem putting runners on-base, but Boston just hasn’t been able to cash in on run scoring opportunities. (Farrell: Wholesale personnel changes “not in the cards”)
- Dustin Pedroia is still a productive member of the Red Sox line-up and still widely regarded as one of the best second basemen in the game, but there’s no denying that his power numbers have taken a hit over the years. In exploring the 30 year old’s power outage, Pedroia’s struggles could be attributed to pulling the ball more, rather than driving it to all fields. (Dustin Pedroia’s fading power)
- Since early July, Xander Bogaerts has struggled to find the same consistency that he featured during the first 2 months of his rookie campaign. But despite his average dropping from .299 to .245, the Red Sox aren’t about to move on from the 21 year old third baseman. (Farrell sticking with Bogaerts despite slump)
- On Tuesday, the Red Sox added to their glut of pitching prospects by signing 16 year old pitchers, Christopher Acosta(Dominican Republic) and Anderson Espinoza (Venezuela). Both pitchers were highly regarded talent on the international free agent market, and the ladder of the two even drew comparisons to Pedro Martinez. (Red Sox sign top Dominican pitching prospect Christopher Acosta, top overall prospect Anderson Espinoza on International signing day)
- Since taking over the closers role for the Red Sox, Koji Uehara has been undoubtedly the most reliable reliever that Boston has to offer. Recently however, the 39 year old veteran has endured some uncharacteristic hiccups, which begs to question if the reliever is starting to show some wear and tare. (Et Tu, Koji?)
- Tweet of the day: Remy’s tooth fell out during the broadcast, leading to this gem from Mr. Don Orsillo.
Orsillo: "You'll have those summer teeth. Some are there, some ain't."
— Matt Collins (@MattRyCollins) July 3, 2014