Red Sox reactions: Behind Sonny Gray (11 Ks), a bounce back night
· Yahoo Sports
Instant reactions from the Red Sox’ 5-2 win over the Colorado Rockies Tuesday night at Coors Field:
Visit saltysenoritaaz.com for more information.
1) If you were expecting a hangover from Monday’s ninth-inning collapse, that didn’t come close to happening. The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back, adding on in the middle innings to make things more comfortable. And when it came time to close things out in the late innings where things fell apart in the series opener, and other than a one-out, solo homer by Ezequiel Tovar off Garrett Whitlock in the ninth, there were no complications this time.
2) Sonny Gray has been excellent all season, but Tuesday might have been his most dominant start. Over seven innings, he allowed just one run while fanning a season-high 11 and walking three. There was some worry before the game how Gray’s repertoire would play in the thin air of Denver — he relies heavily on breaking pitches, which typically are flat at Coors Field — but he leaned heavily on his sweeper, which was outstanding and helped him get a majority of his strikeouts. The one run he allowed came on a solo homer; he’s allowed three homers in his last two starts, but all three came with the bases empty.
- BETTING: For Wednesday’s interleague contest between the Red Sox and the Rockies, the over/under is currently set at 10.5 runs on BetMGM. Our comprehensive BetMGM Sportsbook review makes it easy to navigate through their platform.
3) Nate Eaton is making the most of his opportunities. He got a start in Seattle over the weekend and smacked a homer. Given another start Tuesday night, Eaton capitalized again, Inserted into the leadoff spot, Eaton reached base in each of his first four plate appearances — he drew a leadoff walk to start the game and came around to score; in the second, he delivered a run-scoring single; in the fourth, he lashed a double; and in the sixth, he doubled to left, scoring Anthony Seigler. In short, he reached base four times, scored twice and knocked in two.
4) Reliever Justin Slaten has had a rough time of it over the last couple of weeks, with a few blowups out of the bullpen in which he allowed multiple runs. He wasn’t used in the Monday debacle, and was fresh for the eighth Tuesday. Following a leadoff single to TJ Rumfield, Slaten then got a double play and a routine flyout to end the inning, needing just seven pitches to get three outs.
5) An underrated part of Wilyer Abreu’s season is his success against lefthanders. Before this year, Abreu often sat against lefties because he had struggled against them. This spring, former manager Alex Cora decided it was time to take the training wheels off and stated that Abreu would get regular opportunities to face lefty pitchers. Given the chance, Abreu had taken full advantage. In the first inning, he drilled a triple to the right-center gap off starter Sean Sullivan, which further enhanced the success he’s enjoyed against lefties (.383) this year. He then added a solo homer off Sullivan in the fifth.
6) As good as Ceddanne Rafaela is in center — and there are few, if any, better — he asked too much of himself in the second inning. On a shallow pop-up off the bat of Troy Johnston, Rafaela came racing in and waved off two middle infielders. As it turned out, the ball dropped in and Jonhston landed safely at second with a gift double. That’s a ball that should have been caught by second baseman Anthony Seigler, who only had to drift 10 or 15 feet from the iinfield dirt.
7) The strikeouts are piling up for Jarren Duran. Duran struc out three times in an 0-for-4 performance, dropping his batting average back down below .200. It also marked the third time in the last five games that he had struck out three times. For the season, he’s fanned 96 times, which easily leads the club.
8) In the series finale on getaway day, the Red Sox will go with LHP Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.93), who will be opposed by fellow southpaw Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.36). First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m.
More Red Sox coverage
- Giants executive expects Rafael Devers to work on accountability
- ‘Physical specimen’ among influx of Red Sox prospects with legit right-handed home run power
- Fenway Insider: Submit questions for MassLive’s Sean McAdam
- When will Red Sox get Romy Gonzalez back? He gives specific target date
- Red Sox lineup: Nate Eaton gets turn in leadoff spot
Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.