Daily Dose: Sox Batter Felix
The curse has been lifted.
Thanks, Ben Affleck.
Fifteen times in a row the Red Sox had tried and failed to win on Ben Affleck’s birthday. That changed Saturday when the Red Sox coasted to a 22-10 win over the Mariners exactly 43 years after Affleck’s birth.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Red Sox and Mariners, two cellar-dwelling teams that can’t even spell the word playoffs, combined for 32 runs in nine innings of baseball. Seven of them came off the bat of Jackie Bradley Jr., who is quickly rewriting the “if only he could hit” narrative that’s followed him throughout his career.
Bradley had the game of his life with two homers, five runs and five hits. The 14 total bases he racked up were the most by any player in the major leagues this season. At 25, Bradley is the youngest player in the modern era to record five extra-base hits in a single game. Bradley is also the third player in history with two homers, five extra-base hits, five runs and seven RBI in a game and the first to do it since Shawn Green in 2002.
Bradley’s batting average has shot up over 100 points since last week. That’s about the time assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez discovered that Bradley’s toe-tap was causing him to swing late. Since eliminating it, Bradley has been unstoppable. Fifteen of his 20 hits this year have come in the month of August.
Xander Bogaerts and Blake Swihart each contributed four hits while Wade Miley went seven innings for his ninth win of the year. Josh Rutledge reached base a career-high four times for the Red Sox, a stat made even more impressive by the fact that he didn’t even start the game. The 22 runs were Boston’s most since 2003 and the most ever allowed by Seattle.
Felix Hernandez imploded on the three-year anniversary of his perfect game by allowing a career-worst 10 runs in 2 1/3 innings. King Felix entered the day with a 3.11 ERA. By the time he left the mound, it was all the way up to 3.65. The Red Sox have been a thorn in his side all year. He’s 0-2 against them with a 15.12 ERA compared to 14-5 with a 2.99 ERA against the rest of the league.
The M’s turned to backup catcher Jesus Sucre to pitch the eighth inning after the bullpen ran out of fresh arms. It was his second appearance of the year. The Mariners have allowed a whopping 47 hits since Hisashi Iwakuma’s no-hitter on Wednesday.
The Red Sox have rallied behind manager John Farrell, who was diagnosed with Stage 1 lymphoma on Friday. They’ve put up 37 runs in their last two contests, the most by any team in consecutive games since Texas steamrolled Baltimore for 39 runs during a doubleheader on August 22, 2007. Before Saturday, no team had posted consecutive games with 20 hits and 15 runs since 1950.
The Red Sox sent nine hitters to the plate in three separate innings, the first time they’ve done that since 1986. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Saturday was only the second 22-10 game in major league history. The last one came in 1912.
Cubs Win Ninth Straight
Speaking of curses, the Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908. A century of losing can take its toll on a fan base but right now, the Cubs have to like their chances.
The Cubs won their ninth straight Saturday against the White Sox. It’s the team’s longest winning streak since 2008, which was coincidentally the last time Chicago appeared in the postseason.
The Cubs were led by Kris Bryant, who extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a pair of singles. Meanwhile, Jake Arrieta continued his breakout season by notching his league-leading 14th win. He’s thrown 11 consecutive quality starts, the longest streak by a Cub since Steve Trachsel in 1994. His 2.39 ERA this year is the lowest by a Cubs starter since Greg Maddux posted a 2.18 ERA en route to a Cy Young Award in 1992.
Kyle Schwarber broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with an RBI single. He also got his first taste of the Cubs/White Sox rivalry when an unruly fan tossed a “tallboy” beer in his direction. David Ross said he should have shotgunned it.
The Cubs have won 15-of-16 for the first time since 2011. If they win Sunday, it will be their first 16-1 stretch since 1945. I don’t know about shotgunning, but I’d raise a glass to that.
Tanaka Goes the Distance
Not so fast, Toronto. The Yankees aren’t finished yet.
Just when it looked like the Blue Jays couldn’t be stopped, the Yankees have defeated them twice in a row. Saturday’s 4-1 victory was aided by a stellar performance from Masahiro Tanaka. The right-hander went all nine innings for his first complete game since June 28, 2014. He scattered five hits and three walks while recording eight strikeouts. That’s one off his season-high.
The Blue Jays are in danger of being swept by the Yankees for the first time since June of 2014. After fighting hard to take back first place in the AL East, Toronto has slipped into second, one and a half games behind the division leading Yanks. Toronto still has eight games left against the Bombers, so there’s plenty of time to make up the ground.
Luis Severino and Drew Hutchison will toe the rubber for Sunday’s series finale at Rogers Centre.
American League Quick Hits: Yankees first baseman Greg Bird singled off LaTroy Hawkins for his first major league hit. Bird was two years old when Hawkins made his major league debut in 1995 … Brett Gardner collected his 16th steal on Saturday. He hadn’t swiped a bag since June 12 … Matt Barnes will make his first career start Monday against the Indians. The right-hander has made 21 relief appearances for the Red Sox this season … Albert Pujols belted his 31st homer on Saturday. It was his first blast since July 29 … Since his 19-inning scoreless streak ended, Matt Shoemaker has let up 13 runs in 7 1/3 innings. After getting shelled by the Royals on Saturday, Shoemaker is now 0-2 with a 22.23 ERA in his career at Kauffman Stadium … Sonny Gray (back) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Saturday. He should be ready to go Monday against Baltimore … In a nice gesture, A’s reliever Edward Mujica organized and paid for a pre-game crab feast for his teammates on Saturday … Sam Fuld homered against Baltimore Saturday to break out of an 0-for-18 slump. That matched the longest drought of his career … Switch pitcher alert: Pat Venditte was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Saturday. He allowed a walk-off home run to Chris Davis in the ninth inning and was charged with his first career loss … Davis has 86 career home runs at Camden Yards, fifth-most in park history and one ahead of Cal Ripken. He’s 38 home runs behind the all-time leader Rafael Palmeiro … The Orioles have two walk-off wins in a row. They hadn’t done that since September 2012 … In last week’s Dose, I mentioned the Orioles had used 99 different lineups this season. Now it’s up to 105 … Victor Martinez started at first base on Saturday. He hadn’t played in the field since 2014 … Carlos Correa has learned patience. He’s walked five times in his last two games and 12 times since August 2. The 20-year-old drew just three free passes in his first 22 games … The Astros brought back 17 players from their 2005 team to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their National League pennant. Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Morgan Ensberg, Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt were all in attendance. Former manager Phil Garner threw out the first pitch.
National League Quick Hits: Freddie Freeman will head to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday to begin a rehab assignment. He suffered a strained oblique earlier this month … Lucas Duda (back) returned to action as a pinch-hitter on Saturday. He hadn’t played since Monday … The Mets have crushed a team record 69 homers at Citi Field this season. The old record of 67 was set in 2012 … The Pirates have homered in a season-high nine straight games. They’ve belted 14 homers over that stretch … Charlie Morton finished with a season-high nine strikeouts Saturday against the Mets but didn’t factor in the decision … In what could have been his final game with Philadelphia, Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. That homer was his first since June 3 … Francisco Rodriguez shut the door for his 28th save on Saturday. He hasn’t blown a save in his last 33 chances … Ichiro Suzuki notched two hits Saturday, giving him 4,193 combined hits between his career in Japan and the major leagues. That puts him ahead of Ty Cobb for second-most all-time … Rockies manager Walt Weiss said the team will keep rookie Jon Gray on a strict pitch count for the remainder of the season. Gray threw 69 pitches in Saturday’s no-decision … Ian Desmond jacked a monstrous home run on Saturday. The 477-foot shot was the eighth-longest in MLB this year … Matt Cain is in serious danger of losing his spot in the Giants’ starting rotation. Manager Bruce Bochy will have to make a decision by Tuesday when the team activates Mike Leake (hamstring) from the 15-day DL … Adrian Gonzalez collected his 500th hit as a Dodger on Saturday. He’s the 95th player to reach that mark … Fans were treated to a showing of Back to the Future after Saturday’s game at Dodger Stadium. Lea Thompson, who starred in the movie, threw out the first pitch … Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty got tossed Saturday against the Giants. It was the first time he’s been thrown out of a game since 1984 when he was a pitcher on the Oakland A’s.
