Wednesday Links: Extra-innings warriors

De La Rosa settled down nicely after giving up three runs in the 2nd inning.
Photo by Kelly O’Connor, sittingstill.net.

Fresh off their first win in a little over a week, the Red Sox played the second game north of the boarder against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the first inning, Boston quickly jumped out to a 3 run advantage, thanks to a 2-run home run by Dustin Pedroia and an RBI double from Will Middlebrooks. However, Toronto chipped away at the Red Sox lead, scoring individual runs in three straight innings against Rubby De La Rosa. In the 7th, Yoenis Cespedes rifled an RBI single up the middle to score Brock Holt, and give Boston a 4-3 lead. Shortly there after, Jose Bautista re-tied the game after cranking his 25th home run of the season off Red Sox reliever Alex Wilson. For the second straight night, the Red Sox and Blue Jays needed extra innings to decide a victor, and like Monday night, Boston found a way to come out on top. Boston plated 7 runs against Blue Jays pitching in the 10th, including two home runs off the bat of Mike Napoli and Allen Craig, and blew the doors off the game. Tuesday night’s 11-7 win marked Boston’s second consecutive victory, and first series win since sweeping a short two game set in Cincinnati.

• With Rusney Castillo set to join an already crowded Red Sox outfield, Jackie Bradley’s future in Boston has quickly become cloudy. In his rookie campaign, the 24-year old played gold glove caliber type defense in center field, but his inability to hit big league pitching prompted a demotion to AAA. While Bradley’s first season in Boston didn’t go as the Red Sox brass had hoped it would, there’s still reason to believe that the former first-round pick could turn things around at the plate. (Don’t forget Jackie Bradley in Red Sox outfield mix)

• After sustaining multiple injuries early in his professional career, Anthony Ranaudo has finally started to pitch like the Red Sox though he would when they selected him 39th overall in the 2010 draft. On top of making his major league debut this season, Ranaudo dominated the competition in AAA and was recently awarded the International League Pitcher of the Year award. In 24 starts, the former LSU Tiger posted a 2.61 ERA and collected over 100 strikeouts in 138 innings pitched. (Anthony Ranaudo named Most Valuable Pitcher of International League)

• In lieu of his recent struggles in the bullpen, as well as his age and past work load, some have wondered whether the Red Sox would consider shutting down Koji Uehara for the remained of the season. However, Boston has no such plan in the works, and will instead monitor his innings count for the rest of the 2014 season. A free agent at the end of the year, Uehara is said to be fit and healthy, which makes his recent pitching slump that much more perplexing. (Farrell: Uehara fit, won’t be shut down)

• It’s only lasted 4 games, but Koji Uehara’s recent slump has seriously put the Red Sox’ plan at closer into question. In his last 3.1 innings, the 39-year old has allowed 7 runs to cross the plate on 10 hits. Some believe that Uehara is just going through a slump which he didn’t experience all of last season, while others think the veteran reliever is finally starting to show some wear-and-tear. Either way, Boston will need to decide what they’re going to do with the free agent to be this winter. (Koji Uehara’s slump leaves Red Sox in tricky position)

• In a years time, Brock Holt’s versatility has transformed him into one of the Red Sox most valuable players going forward. After his bat became too hot to leave out of the line-up earlier this season, the Red Sox began to play Holt at positions foreign to the native middle infielder. In turn, Holt saw his playing time increase, and he took advantage of the opportunity before him. Now, the 26-year old super utility player appears to be part of the 2015 team, rather than a one-year place holder. (Brock Holt will still “get a lot of playing time” for Red Sox in 2015)

• Tweet of the day: Perhaps the moon is a more helpful measure