Wednesday Links: Rookies help Sox down Yanks

Photo credit: Kelly O’Connor

It didn’t take long for the Red Sox to build a substantial lead against the Yankees on Wednesday evening. In the first of a three game series, Boston tallied two first inning runs off Yankees starter Shane Greene. After Mookie Betts singled and David Ortiz reached via a walk, Yoenis Cespedes drilled an RBI double to the left field wall. A batter later, Mike Napoli chased home Ortiz from third with a sacrifice fly to center field. With Boston leading 2-0 in the third inning, Daniel Nava tacked three more runs onto the Red Sox run total, depositing a home run into the right field bleachers. Two batters later, Xander Bogaerts flexed his muscle with an opposite field home run, which pushed the Red Sox cushion to 6 runs. Meanwhile, Red Sox starter Joe Kelly hurled 6.2 innings of quality baseball, and held New York to just 3 runs despite surrendering 5 hits and 4 walks. Mookie Betts continued to stay red hot at the plate, collecting 3 hits including a home run in 5 at-bats. Fellow rookie Xander Bogaerts also had a nice night offensively, amassing 4 hits and 2 RBI’s in 5 trips to the plate. However, not everyone participated in Boston’s hit parade. Batting out of the lead-off spot, Brock Holt endured an 0-for-6 night, while Will Middlebrooks donned the golden sombrero after 5 trips to the plate. Fortunately, the Red Sox were able to hang a 9 spot on the scoreboard, which was more than enough to defeat the punchless Yankees offense. Boston’s 9-4 victory marked Joe Kelly’s first win as a member of the Red Sox, and his first overall win since mid-July.

• While we might not like to think about it, there will come a time in Boston sports when neither David Ortiz or Tom Brady are leading their respective teams into battle. As we know, both athletes have forever altered New England sports, and have given us countless sports memories that we will never forget. But now is not the time to say good-bye — not yet, at least. As both athletes draw closer to the end of their career with each passing game, neither one has retirement on their mind. Instead, Ortiz and Brady remain focused on bringing another championship to Boston. (Life without David Ortiz, Tom Brady? Nobody (not even either athlete) wants to talk about it)

• Considering his crooked path to the major leagues, Daniel Nava is probably use to playing baseball amidst uncertainties by now. So when the 31-year old struggled out of the gate this season, and was subsequently demoted to triple-A, he approached his predicament as just another speed bump in the road. Now, since reconfiguring his swing in the minors and returning to Boston, Nava has batted over .300 with a .370 OBP. (Daniel Nava accustom to playing with uncertain future)

• “What a difference a year makes” has been used interchangeably over the past two seasons in Boston. Last year, the Red Sox lead the league in just about every offensive category en route to their World Series championship. This season, however, Boston has regressed significantly at the plate and are among the bottom feeders in both the standings and statistics. A quick look at the Red Sox near historic drop-off in runs put the teams regression into perspective. (Sox on pace for historic drop in runs)

• Anthony Ranaudo hasn’t been dominant during his first 3 major league starts, but he’s certainly been effective. Operating with a low 90’s fastball and a few serviceable breaking pitches, the 24-year old has yet to allow more than 4 runs in a game and pitch fewer than 6 innings. This small sample size isn’t exactly an definite indicator of things to come for the right-hander, but his early success and veteran-like poise has made him an interesting pitcher to watch going forward. (Anthony Ranaudo ready for the big stage: Red Sox fond of rookie’s poise)

• The Red Sox wasted no time taking advantage of the roster expansion. After promoting knuckle-baller Steven Wright to Boston over the weekend, the Red Sox made their second batch of call-up’s on Tuesday. The team summoned right-handed starting pitcher Anthony Ranaudo and catcher Dan Butler from Pawtucket, and pushed their active roster to 28 players. (Red Sox recall Anthony Ranaudo, Dan Butler before series with Yankees)

• Tweet of the day: Youth movement