Final: Baltimore: 7, Boston: 4
The Sox lose the last two of their three game series vs. the lowly Baltimore Orioles.
Ryan Weber looked pretty similar to Martin Perez yesterday: lost, and like he should not be a regular starter. He went just 3 2/3 innings today, giving up six earned runs, walking three, and striking out none. He gets credit for the loss today. Weber is someone who typically hasn't walked a ton of batters, but two of the men he walked today ended up scoring.
In 2019, his first year with the Red Sox, Weber appeared in 18 games, starting three of them. He had a 5.09 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP with two wins and four losses. Not really numbers to brag about.
If Weber is getting shelled like this versus the lowly Baltimore Orioles, imagine him against team like the Yankees. This could quickly become a very long season for the Sox if their starting pitching continues like this.
This Red Sox rotation is their worst in a long time. The bottom line is, right now they only have one legit starter, and that is Nathan Eovaldi. Their offense is going to have to go off pretty much every night, and it doesn't look like they are going to do that.
At least the bullpen wasn't too bad. They turned in four scoreless innings from Colton Brewer, Marcus Walden, and Matt Barnes before Austin Brice gave up one run in the ninth.
Solo home runs by Chrisitan Vazquez and Kevin Pillar highlight the day on offense, but the top of the order once again struggled. Jose Peraza (who by no means should be hitting leadoff) went 0-for-4, as did J.D. Martinez. Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts were not able to lift them up, as they each had just one hit.
Vazquez and Jackie Bradley Jr. were the only Sox with multiple hits today. Bradley Jr. continues to tear it up so far, improving his average to .636, in addition to a number of phenomenal plays in the outfield.
For the first time since 2014, the Sox have been held without a walk two games in a row. The last time that happened to them against the O's? 1980.
These past two games have felt scarily like last season when the Sox lost far too many games against terrible teams like the Orioles, and it cost them.
On Monday the Sox will take on the Michael Wacha and New York Mets at Fenway. Two of the four games versus New York in this series will be in Boston, and two will be in New York. The Mets look like a bit of an imposing opponent, especially because of their tough rotation.