Friday Links

by | Jun 13, 2014 | Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, David Ortiz, Grady Sizemore, Jackie Bradley, Jon Lester, Jonathan Herrera, Josh Tomlin, koji uehara, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Yoenis Cespedes

Photo by Kelly O'Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com

Photo by Kelly O’Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com

After going 2-7 on their 3 city road trip, the Red Sox returned to Fenway Park on Thursday night to open a 4 game set with the Cleveland Indians. Jon Lester toed the rubber for Boston, and was opposed by Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin. The Red Sox opened up the scoring in the second inning on a Grady Sizemore ground-ruled double that plated Mike Napoli. Later on in the 5th inning, David Ortiz blasted his 15th home run of the year to dead center field, which widened Boston’s lead to three runs. Meanwhile, Jon Lester kept Cleveland’s offense at bay by tossing 7.2 innings of 8 hit, 2 run (one earned) baseball. The Red Sox would go on to add two more runs on a Brock Holt RBI double to left field which scored Jonathan Herrera and Jackie Bradley Jr. In the 9th, Koji Uehara was summoned from the pen, and he promptly slammed the door by tossing a flawless 9th. The Red Sox 5-2 win over the Indians marked the team’s 30th win of the season.

  • Injured Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew is set to undergo an MRI on his ailing right oblique on Friday. Since resigning with the Red Sox in late May, Drew has played in 4 games and has collected exactly one hit. While it’s too early to determine if bringing Drew back was worth it, early injuries aren’t helping Drew’s case. (Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew still day-to-day; may need an MRI)
  • While the Red Sox have certainly had some terrific players man center field over the past decade, none of them have had an arm like Jackie Bradley. On Thursday, the rookie showed off his cannon for an arm after tracking down a deep fly ball in left-center, then throwing a one hopper to first base for a double play. (Jackie Bradley, Jr. and the Cannon of Cannons)
  • There’s definitely enough of the blame pie to go around for the Red Sox shoddy play this season, but it seems like a big piece of that pie is owed to the Boston’s offense. Obviously it’s hard to win when you can’t score, but John Farrell isn’t going to make any brash decisions with the line-up or style of play just yet. (John Farrell seeking answers for Red Sox’ offensive struggles)
  • With the struggles of the Red Sox offense prevalent on a game-to-game basis, a lot of stress has been put on the team’s rotation to hold the line despite having little to no margin for error. Frustration mounted on Thursday when two blown plays led an Indian’s rally, but although Jon Lester wore his emotions on his sleeve, he managed to remain calm and end the inning with the lead still intact. (Lester manages to keep calm and carry on)
  • With the trade deadline still over a month away, the Red Sox decision to buy or sell is still up for debate. However if the team ultimately decides to sell, Jon Lester would certainly bring back a haul of talent. The free agent to be has a regular season and post season resume that would certainly interest teams in need of a rotation boost. (The case for trading Jon Lester)