Keep It Rolling
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 – Fenway Park, Section 40
Red Sox 8, Rockies 3
The Colorado Rockies were the next victims for the Red Sox, who have their offense working at Fenway as if they were in the thin air of mile-high Coors Field. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, then added two more in the second. And Jackie Bradley Jr. wasted no time knocking the first pitch of his first at-bat off the Green Monster to extend his hitting streak to 28 games. My favorite pictures from the game are below.
David Price had a solid outing, his third since fixing his mechanics earlier in the month.
Big Papi drove in two runs with a single in the first inning, and two more with a double in the fourth.
I had a nice seat in Section 40, in the second row behind the Red Sox bullpen.
Dustin Pedroia jumps as a Rockies batter swings. Pedey had a good night, reaching base four times on three hits and a walk.
JBJ was all smiles after extending his hitting streak in his first at-bat. It's up to 28 now.
With all the focus on Jackie Bradley's hitting streak, Xander Bogaerts is flying under the radar with a 17-game streak that he extended in the first inning. Some fans in my section got to re-use their #XforASG sign from last year when we were trying to vote Xander in to the All-Star Game on the final vote ballot. They had crossed out 2015 and written 2016 on the sign.
Not only does Xander deserve to go to the All-Star Game this year, but a bunch of his teammates should join him. Balloting is all online this year, and it’s already started, so don’t wait until the final days to vote. Vote 5 times a day, up to 35 votes per mlb.com account, at this link. #EveryoneForASG
Mookie Betts asked for a few throws down low as he warmed up between innings.
Not pitching to Papi? Boo!
This is something we won’t be seeing much of in the future. Not just because Big Papi’s retiring, but because the intentional walk may go away with him. There’s a proposed rule change to just let the pitcher signal that he wants to walk the batter without actually throwing the pitches, supposedly to speed up the game. I hate this idea! The argument I hear most often is that there’s a chance that the ball gets away from the catcher and the runners could advance. But my biggest objection is that it won’t take a toll on the pitcher’s pitch count. One of the biggest strengths of the Red Sox offense of the past decade-plus has been the ability to drive up the starter’s pitch count, get him out of the game sooner, and face more middle relievers. If a pitcher wants to skip a certain batter, he needs to pay a price, not keep his arm fresh for facing someone else later. And how much time would that really save anyway? Why is two extra minutes so awful? Isn’t the rhythm and cadence of baseball what we all fell in love with in the first place? (Plus watching those four pitches gives us extra time to boo!)
The outfield dance at the end of each win has gained some new steps. Now Mookie Betts and Chris Young mime taking pitcures of Jackie Bradley Jr. before running in to join the rest of the team.
Another fun win was in the books, and the only downside was that no Red Sox players homered for the first time in the last 23 games. The 22-game homer streak set a new franchise record, and you can watch a montage of all the homers during the streak on youtube.
