| Andrew Perna. 28th May, 2011 - 4:31 am
 “Judgment Day” came and went last Saturday without the end of the world.
It’s ironic that the Boston Red Sox lost on May 21, dropping a 9-3 decision to the visiting (and struggling) Chicago Cubs because since judgment was passed on them in early April they’ve more than just survived.
On Friday, April 15 the Red Sox were just 2-10 following a 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Since then, they’ve put together six streaks of three or more wins and have won 72% of their games (26-10).
Their current run of eight wins in 11 games has them tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East heading into Friday night’s action.
So how have the Red Sox turned things around?
The easy answer is that they’re closer to the team everyone expected them to be after adding Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to an already potent lineup and that their pitching and defense have leveled out.
However, we’re not looking for the easy answer.
Josh Beckett Is Dealing
Beckett left Thursday’s game after just 83 pitches with a neck issue, which has to send at least some concern rippling through Boston. After a horrible 2010 campaign (5.78 ERA in just 21 starts) the right-hander has bounced back to boost the rotation.
In the month of May, he’s 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 26 strikeouts against 11 walks. He’s gone at least six innings in all but two of his starts and allowed more than three runs just once in 2011. The Red Sox would be lost without Beckett because of what Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey have provided.
Lowrie Kept Them Afloat
Jed Lowrie has come back down to Earth this month, but while the Red Sox were struggling and at the beginning of their surge, it was the young infielder that kept them competitive and provided a bright spot.
He hit .368/.389/.574 in April with three home runs and 12 RBIs. While regulars like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz have warmed up, Lowrie has started to go cold. He’s hit just .244 with a .309 OBP in May and has just four extra-base hits.
His ability to play multiple positions -- he’s been in the lineup at shortstop, third, second and first this season -- has also provided manager Terry Francona with needed flexibility.
Not A Bad Option
The Red Sox would love to be able to use their designated hitter spot to rest veterans as the rival Yankees often do, but they’ll certainly take what Ortiz has provided at the position.
He’s in the midst of his best season since 2007 despite looking like a shell of his former self physically in the post-PED era. He’s hitting .347/.392/.695 this month and he figures to benefit from better pitches and more chances to produce runs as the guys in front of him wake from their spring slumbers.
Ortiz has also walked more than he’s struck out in 2011; his rate of 1.1 BB per K is the highest of his career.
Breaking Out The Bats
The Red Sox have exploded offensively over the last week, scoring 14 or more runs in three of their last seven games. Those games weren’t slugfests either, with their pitching holding the opposition to a total of eight runs in the three games in which Boston’s hitting produced 43 runs.
Stable Pitching
They won’t need 14-run outbursts if their pitching staff continues to fool opposing hitters. Beckett, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester all have at least four wins and an ERA below 3.40 in double-digit starts.
Matsuzaka and Lackey have weighed down the rotation and staff as a whole, but the ageless Tim Wakefield has once again filled in admirably. He has a 3.86 ERA in 18 2/3 innings this month, including a win over the Cubs on May 22. He’s been nearly unhittable if you discount the six runs he surrendered to the Twins in just 4 1/3 innings on May 6.
Contract Hitters Making Contact
Adrian Gonzalez has been hitting well all season, but fellow free-agent addition Carl Crawford has finally given the Red Sox what they expected when they shelled out $296 million for the pair over the next seven years.
Gonzalez hit .314/.379/.457 with a home run in April, which is acceptable aside from the reduced power numbers. In May, he’s on a tear (.359/.391/.650) with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 24 games. No active baseball player has more RBIs (44) than Gonzalez.
His power numbers have increased this month in part because of Crawford’s surge.
The outfielder’s numbers for the season still look below-average because of an absolutely horrible April, but he’s been the Crawford we’ve come to expect over the last four weeks. He’s hitting .333/.354/.510 in May, which has bumped his season average to .244.
He’s still striking out at an alarming rate (he’s on pace for a career-high in that category), but he should become more patient at the plate once he gets his average around .300 and Pedroia and Youkilis do the same to protect him in the lineup.
Boston is clearly one of the best hitting teams in baseball despite the slow starts Pedroia (.247/.357/.332) and Youkilis (.272/.403/.519) have endured. The rival Yankees are led by Alex Rodriguez’s .287 average, while the Red Sox have four regulars with higher averages (Gonzalez, Ortiz, Lowrie and Jacoby Ellsbury) and Youkilis lurking. |
