OFFENSE HEATS UP EARLY AS RED SOX ROLL OVER BRAVES, 8-5
With the blink of an eye a new YD Red Sox (14-16-3) team has emerged in the past couple games, a team with timely hitting, efficient pitching, and shut down defense. These were all used to their full extent in yesterday’s 8-5 win over the Western Division second-place team, the Bourne Braves (18-12-2).
The hot hitting continued for the Sox as they recorded their second straight double-digit team hit total (12) and second straight game in which every starting player had at least one hit. The Red Sox have been doing a lot of things right to help them win games that they were struggling with in the middle of the season. Early offensive runs in the past two games have allowed the Sox to jump out to early leads rather than playing catch up the entire game. YD scored four runs in the second inning against Hyannis on Monday and seven runs in the first three innings against Bourne yesterday.
Another improved area of the Red Sox playing style has been their ability to eliminate late inning opponent runs and quell any chance the opposing team has of making a comeback. Earlier in the season the Red Sox were more susceptible to give up late inning runs that would allow the other team to take or extend their lead. However, the relief pitching has developed significantly, possibly due to the arrival of new pitchers from Team USA in the past couple weeks that have allowed pitchers like Zack Weiss and Kyle Hansen to move into more specialized role in the bullpen.
Weiss and Hansen, who picked up his third save of the season, combined for four innings of shut out relief pitching (eight scoreless innings for the Red Sox bullpen in the last two games). Weiss, along with starting pitcher Brian Johnson, was part of a streak in which 17 Bourne hitters were retired in a row. Weiss only faced nine batters in three innings of relief work because in each inning he retired the batters in order.
Johnson pitched well enough for the win (his first of the season) going five innings and allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out seven, including a strike out of the side in the fourth. Besides the first and third innings when Johnson allowed all his runs, he pitched 1-2-3 innings in the second, fourth, and fifth innings. Actually, other than the two tough innings for Johnson and the one base runner Hansen allowed in the ninth, every other inning saw the Bourne hitters retired in order (6 of 9 innings).
Similar to the Braves, the Red Sox offensive action came in the first few innings. After finding themselves in a 2-0 hole after the top of the first, the Red Sox pounced back immediately with a two-out Mason Katz two-run home run just to the left of the scoreboard in left field. It was Katz’s third home run of the season and his team leading 15th and 16th RBIs.
YD did more two-out damage in the bottom of the second when a Matt Wessinger single was followed by a Connor Harrell double (one of his two on the day) to the left center gap that scored Wessinger all the way from first. James Ramsey came to the plate next and launched a moon shot over the fence in right center field for his fourth home run of the season expanding the Red Sox lead to 5-2.
The Braves tied the score in the top of the third thanks to a two-run home run by second baseman Garrett Cannizaro, his second of the year, and an RBI single by third baseman Colin Moran later in the inning.
The tie was short lived however as the Red Sox scored two more runs in the bottom of the frame, again with two outs. With Katz on first base, shortstop Chris Taylor blooped a ball to left field that was going to drop for a single. The Bourne left fielder horribly misplayed the ball as it slipped under his gloved and rolled back towards the fence. Taylor would get a triple out of the play as Katz scored from first to regain the Red Sox lead. Cody Keefer then delivered an RBI single to give YD the 7-5 lead.
A two-out Piscotty single in the bottom of the fourth tagged on the eighth and final Red Sox run.
After an Orleans Firebirds loss yesterday, the Red Sox now claim sole possession of third place in the Eastern Division and sit just seven points back of the division leading Brewster Whitecaps. YD play the Firebirds tonight, Wednesday, at 7 PM in Orleans as they seek to add some distance between themselves and the Firebirds and gain some ground on the Whitecaps and Mariners in the division.
