Unexpected News : Alex Cora Confirm To Welcome Another Key Addition To Boston Red Sox Squad…
Tonight was a big game for the Red Sox. They entered it holding the third and final AL Wild Card spot, and they were hosting a Royals team who was just one game behind them for the position
Those three guys could just as easily be starting a Triple-A game given their fringy nature, but due to the way this Red Sox roster is currently constructed, they were put on the front lines to defend the third and final Wild Card spot. It did not go well!
Cooper Criswell took the loss after giving up five runs (only two earned), Romy Gonzalez went hitless and made the error that led to those unearned runs, and Jamie Westbrook … Well, he was actually pretty good, scoring the only Sox run of the night
But the larger issue here is that the Red Sox have vulnerabilities, and tonight’s game exposed them. So much of what happened here stemmed from the simple fact that the Royals had a good lefty in Cole Ragans on the mound. Since a normal Sox lineup is loaded with lefties, they had to maneuver to jam six righties in there. Romy Gonzalez to first base, Rob Refsnyder in right, Rafaela moved to center to make room in the middle infield for Jamie Westbrook, and Tyler O’Neill pushing Masataka Yoshida out of the lineup at DH. (Wong in his usual spot.)
But as is usually the case when they face a lefty starter, the Sox struggled. Tonight they scored just one run, and they’re now 12-15 against lefty starters, compared to 39-27 against righties. Part of that has to do with the fact that the majority of their best hitters are left handed, but there’s also another less obvious piece to the equation.
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