Rest Assured

Clay Buchholz, ladies and gentlemen.  The man never ceases to amaze me.  His ERA is still under 2.00; his 1.73 leads the league.  Watching him work is like watching the quintessential example of everything that pitching is supposed to be, in all its expert and masterful glory.  He just keeps getting better and better.

We got on the board first and established a lead early.  Granted, it was only a one-run lead, but when you have the right pitchers, that’s really all you need.

We really didn’t waste any time.  Ellsbury grounded out on the game’s third pitch, but after that, Gomes got hit, Pedroia doubled, and both scored on Papi’s single.  Napoli then walked, but Nava and Middlebrooks both struck out to end the frame.  Although Papi did steal third in the process.  You don’t get to see Papi steal a base very often.  It’s always fun to watch, even if ultimately it doesn’t amount to anything.

Our offensive production was all very nonexistent after that.  Ellsbury singled in the second.  Napoli walked in the third.  Ellsbury walked in the fifth.  That was it through six.  Salty and Ellsbury hit back-to-back singles in the seventh with two out, but it amounted to nothing.

We had a truly excellent scoring opportunity in the eighth; the best there is, really.  Pedroia lined out to start it off, but then Papi and Napoli hit back-to-back singles and Nava walked to load the bases.  We didn’t do anything major, but we did enough to provide some insurance, and in a game in which a one-run lead held until the eighth, scoring one other run alone would have been like scoring ten.  Middlebrooks hit a sac fly, bringing Papi home.  Drew walked to re-load the bases, and Napoli scored on a passed ball.  The inning ended with Salty’s strikeout, but we managed to double our run total and triple our lead.

If there are two pitchers on this staff that you can feel absolutely one hundred percent confident in when it comes to a one-run lead, they’re Lester and Buchholz.  Last night, it was Buchholz.  Watching him pitch with a one-run lead is like watching him pitch with a ten-run lead: easy and efficient.  His fastball and his off-speed pitches don’t miss.  They mix up the hitters and get the outs.  And he isn’t afraid to take the risks that allow him to keep batters on edge and win ballgames.

His second pitch of the game was actually hit for a single; fortunately, the runner was caught stealing second base.  He then issued two consecutive walks, but he got out of the inning unscathed.  He had a one-two-three second; his only blemish came in the third.  He gave up a single, issued a walk, and induced a force out that resulted in runners at the corners.  Then one run scored on a groundout, and the inning ended with a strikeout.  That’s what I would call a smart run; it’s usually advisable to trade the run for the out, especially if it’s only one run.  You should always be able to count on your lineup to score more than one run.

He gave up a single in the fourth, but thanks to a double play, he faced the minimum.  He gave up a single in the fifth and sixth, which ended with another caught-stealing.  The seventh inning was a thing of beauty: nine pitches, three up, three down.  All told, he pitched seven innings, gave up one run on five hits, walked three, and struck out four.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Uehara had a one-two-three eighth.  And we padded our lead even more in the ninth.  Ellsbury walked, Nava singled, and two outs later, Napoli walked to load the bases yet again.  And yet again, it was nothing big, but it was a single that scored another two runs.  Middlebrooks ended the rally with a groundout.

Bailey came on for the ninth; it was less than flawless.  He got the first two outs fine, then made a mistake and allowed a solo shot, and then ended the inning with a strikeout.  Fortunately, the score wasn’t still 2-1 at the time.  We won, 4-1.  We avoided the sweep and won the road trip.  Simple enough.

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The Return

Let’s not deny it.  When it became apparent that Lackey was returning to the DL, I bet that it initiated quite the storm of I-told-you-soing from those who were absolutely convinced that he would never return to what he once ways.  As it turns out, we can’t yet say that he has.  But we can say that his return from the DL was an unmitigated success.  Commencing initial sighs of relief.

He pitched six innings and gave up one run on five hits while walking two and striking out four.  He threw only eighty-one pitches, fifty-six of which were strikes.  The first inning was scary; after securing the first two outs, he gave up two consecutive walks and a single that scored the game’s first run.  But he obviously settled right down after that.  A single was his only blemish in the second, and his next three innings were one-two-three.  He gave another big scare in the sixth by giving up three consecutive singles with one out but managed to escape the jam unscathed.  Needless to say, I think that that was John’s cue to bring Mortensen, then Uehara, then Bailey for the next three frames, respectively.

While the Astros were busy getting frustrated by Lackey, we were busy getting busy at the plate.  Ellsbury grounded out to lead off the first but then Nava doubled and scored on a single by Papi.  We were silent in the second and third, but we started the fourth with two back-to-back singles, both of which turned into runs on a triple by Drew.  Nava reached on a fielding error to begin the fifth and scored on a double by Pedroia, who scored on a double by Carp two outs later.  We went down in order in the sixth, and then Nava and Papi were at it again; Nava singled to lead off the seventh and scored on a double by Papi.

All told, we walked twice and picked up eleven hits, five of which were for extra bases.  Nava, Papi, and Carp all had multi-hit games.  And though the Astros got seven hits by the time the game was over, they didn’t get the win.  That went to us with a final score of 6-1.  We are now eighteen and seven on the season, comparable to our incredible start in 2002.  Ladies and gentlemen, we are the proud owners of the best record in all of Major League Baseball.

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Good Badness

Lester had one of his worst starts this year.  He only lasted five and two-thirds innings, and he gave up three runs on six hits while walking six and striking out only five.  This start pushed his ERA over 2.00; it’s now 2.27.

Lester gave up two walks and a single in the first.  He gave up another walk in the second.  He had a one-two-three third.  He gave up two singles and a home run in the fourth; that put us down by three.  He gave up another walk in the fifth.  He gave up a double, walk, and single while recording two strikeouts.  And then he was replaced by Tazawa, who recorded the final out of the sixth.

Objectively speaking, Lester’s start really wasn’t that bad.  He made one mistake, which resulted in the three-run home run.  Other than that, he was just very inefficient and didn’t have his usual control or command.  He had substantial trouble finding the strike zone, and his walks reduced his efficiency.  So that’s how stellar a pitcher he is.  There are pitchers out there whose best day doesn’t even come close to Lester’s start last night.

Tazawa secured the first two outs of the seventh and allowed a double followed by a single, which scored a run.  Miller then came in, finished the seventh.  Uehara came out for the eighth and gave up a solo shot before getting through the rest of the frame with flying colors.  Bailey had a fantastic ninth; three up, three down, all via the swinging strikeout.

The A’s scored in three innings: three runs in the fourth, one in the seventh, and one in the eighth.  We only scored in two innings, and we barely scored enough to compensate for the runs allowed by the relief corps.  But the fact is that we got through it, so we picked up the win.  Still, as long as the relief corps gives up runs late in the game, I will continue to make note of the fact that no good can come of it, win or no win.

Before and after the fourth and fifth, we had no scoring opportunities or rallies to speak of.  But those were some great innings.  It began modestly enough with a groundout by Pedroia.  Then Papi and Napoli hit back-to-back doubles that resulted in our first run.  Gomes walked but was out at second thanks to a force by Middlebrooks that still put runners at the corners.  In the end, it didn’t matter where anyone was standing; Drew hit a bases-clearing triple.  The frame ended with a strikeout by Ross.

Ellsbury led off the fifth with a single, stole second, and scored on a double by Victorino.  Pedroia singled, and runners were again at the corners; Victorino scored on a single by Papi.  After a pitching change, Napoli got hit to load the bases.  Nava came in to pinch-hit for Gomes and singled in Pedroia.  Then we went down in order.

Half of our ten hits were for extra bases.  Pedroia went two for five, Papi went two for four, and Nava was a perfect two for two.  Papi played an essential role in our rallies; it’s so good to have him back.  We also had two walks to our credit en route to a 6-5 win.

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Grandiose

Grandiose tends to refer to something that is absurdly exaggerated.  If we’re talking about goodness, then yes, I would say that there were enough aspects of yesterday’s performance that were sufficiently full of goodness so as to warrant the description of grandiose.

Doubront had himself another decent start.  He left two outs into the seventh after giving up three runs on three hits while walking five and striking out eight.  He threw 113 pitches, sixty-seven of which were strikes.

Unfortunately, he gave up some runs to some familiar faces.  Jed Lowrie walked to start the second, moved to third on a double, and scored on a wild pitch.  Josh Reddick was at bat at the time, and he ended up singling in another run.  In the fifth, Doubront loaded the bases thanks to two walks and a single; one of those walks was issued to Coco Crisp, who thankfully didn’t end up scoring.  The best part of  that inning was the fact that Doubront escaped that situation after allowing only one run, which scored on a sac fly.

Mortensen came in for the rest of the seventh; although he did record the first out of the eighth, he also gave up a walk, hit a batter, and then gave up two consecutive doubles, the second to Lowrie, which scored three runs all told.  If Victorino hadn’t hauled in the second out out of the frame with a clutch catch, things may have ended differently.  Alex Wilson relieved Mortensen, walked a batter, and was replaced by Tazawa, who finished the inning.  Bailey pitched the ninth.

Thankfully, and I mean really thankfully, none of the interminable mess that was the pitching staff’s performance yesterday impacted us.  We scored so many runs that the six the A’s managed to eke out made absolutely no difference on the game’s outcome.

We went down in order and on twelve pitches in the first, which was by no means an indication of what was to follow.  Papi and Napoli hit back-to-back doubles which put us on the board, shrinking the deficit to one.  Ellsbury doubled in the third, but it didn’t amount to anything, and Oakland fans were probably getting comfortable.

After Papi struck out to lead off the fourth, Napoli got hit and Nava doubled.  Middlebrooks took both a curveball and a fastball for balls and made the hitter’s count, count.  He got a big mistake of a slider and rocketed the ball beyond the Monster on a straight shot out of the park.  The ball looked like it was in a big hurry; he crushed it.  And we were instantly up by two.

That sac fly in the top of the inning raised the deficit to three.  It would be our last stint behind.

Victorino opened the fifth with a single on his third pitch.  Pedroia reached on a force attempt on his fourth pitch.  Papi walked on five pitches to load the bases.  But Napoli needed only two pitches.  He took a curveball for a strike.  Then he got an eighty-nine mile-per-hour four-seam fastball that looked prime for one of his power displays.  And he delivered.  Over the Monster too, no less.

Except that you should probably remember that the bases were loaded at the time.  So, basically, Napoli hit a grand slam.

Let me repeat that.  Mike Napoli, with nobody out in the fifth inning, hit a grand slam on a four-seam fastball over the Green Monster in Fenway Park.  It was the fourth grand slam of his career and, as I always say with his mammoth power swings, it looked like it was a regular, run-of-the-mill swing while it was happening.  It was only after the ball began its far yet fast journey out of the park did you realize what had just happened.  It was awesomeness in one of its purest forms.  Oh, by the way, Napoli leads the American League in RBIs.

And we weren’t even done.  Nava reached on a fielding error, and then Middlebrooks popped right into a force out and scored on a double by Salty.  Then we were done.

The final score was 9-6.  It should have been nine to something much lower than six, preferably nine-zip.  The pitching staff, particularly the relievers, should not have given up all those runs or all those walks to begin with.  We were fortunate that we’d scored nine runs and could take it.  As we’ve seen recently, that’s not always the case.  But for now, at least, we can still celebrate.

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Double Dose

It’s always nice to sweep a twin bill.  I bet the Royals are having just a grand old time of it.  It was both exhausting and awful.

Ryan Dempster gave a great start in the opener.  He gave up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out eight over the course of seven innings.  I would have preferred he’d given up less runs, though, because we didn’t score enough to make up for that damage.

Dempster gave up a solo shot in the first, but we moved ahead in the bottom of the frame.  After Ellsbury popped out to lead it off, Nava, Pedroia, and Papi hit back-to-back-to-back singles that scored one and a groundout that brought home another.  Those were the only two runs we’d score that morning.  The Royals, meanwhile, were not done. Dempster gave up two consecutive singles in the fourth; a double brought in their third run, and another single two strikeouts later brought in the last run of the game.  Mortensen pitched the eighth, and Alex Wilson pitched the ninth.  The final score was 4-2.

Allen Webster got the nod to start the nightcap.  It was a decent start.  The important thing is that we put ourselves in a position to win.  He gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits while walking one and striking out five.  He gave up a double on his first pitch of the game, and then he gave up a single that resulted in a run thanks to Ciriaco’s throwing error.  Webster was great in the second, third, and fourth.  But then he gave up two solo shots in the fifth: strikeout, solo shot, strikeout, solo shot, groundout.  Tazawa came on for the seventh.

We were a run behind by the time the second inning rolled around, but we quickly took the lead.  Napoli worked a 2-1 count to lead off the second and then got an eighty-four mile-per-hour slider.  He crushed it.  Over the Monster in left.  Watching him hit home runs is a beautiful thing; it looks so natural, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.  It’s absolutely fantastic.  Salty worked a five-pitch walk after that and scored on a double by Carp.

We added another run in the third.  Ellsbury opened the inning with a double, moved to third on a groundout by Nava, and scored on a single by Pedroia.  The rest of the inning could have seen the rally go on, but it was a complete and total mess.  Pedroia got caught stealing second base, thrown out by who but George Kottaras.  Then Napoli doubled, and Salty singled.  And then the ball was deflected by the first baseman, and Napoli tried to score but was out at home, and that was the end of that.

In the bottom of the fifth, the game was tied at three, but we scored the winning run yet again.  Ellsbury lined out, but then Nava walked, Pedroia singled, and Napoli singled in Nava.  Napoli moved to second on a passed ball, but Salty struck out and Middlebrooks grounded out, killing any rally that would have arisen.

It was all going so well.  Neither team scored after the fifth, and the fifth had left us on top by one.  But Tazawa handed the ball to Uehara in the eighth, and unfortunately he brought the badness on a day when we hadn’t scored enough runs to absorb it.  He got the first two outs of the inning but then gave up a solo shot to tie it at four.  It stayed like that through the ninth, when Bailey pitched.  Then Miller came on for the tenth.  He induced a strikeout for the first out of the inning but then gave up a single and a walk.  He got another strikeout but gave up another single to load the bases.  And then he did the one thing that we love to see opposing pitchers do.  He allowed the winning run in extra innings in the worst and most embarrassing possible way.  He walked it in.  Four pitches.  It was a completely and therefore appropriately disappointing to the end of a sweepingly awful day.  Pun most definitely intended.

In other news, the Bruins shut out the Panthers, three-zip.

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