Red Sox 4, Dodgers 7: Ouch

Please don’t let him hit a lead-off home run. Please don’t let him hit a lead-off home run. Please don’t let him hit a lead-off home run.

Well, that sucked. When Mookie Betts popped out in his first at-bat and Alex Verdugo homered in his, after Verdugo homered, I thought the baseball gods were looking down upon us, all but guaranteeing a win. Instead, the Sox bats went quiet, the bullpen coughed up the lead, and a disappointing loss ensued.

Hopefully, we can start to put the Betts trade behind us. It happened, it’s not going to change. Let’s stop focusing on the past, and start focusing on the now. We may have lost today, but so did the Astros and Blue Jays. We’re in the middle of a playoff chase and Mookie Betts isn’t contributing. There’s a talented roster on the field that didn’t get it done tonight, but there’s still plenty of season left.

Three Studs

Kutter Crawford (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7 K)

Crawford cruised through five innings, before getting into trouble in the sixth. It seems like the volume has started to get to Kutter as his velocity has dropped. Still, he put forth an admirable outing tonight against a great offense and has proved he’s a major-league arm going forward.

Alex Verdugo (3-5, HR)

His lead-off home run was enough for me to declare the Red Sox won the trade. Disregard the outcome of the game, please.

Trevor Story (2-4, HR)

Alex Cora speculated that Story would start to be the everyday shortstop beginning with the Dodgers’ series. He’s playing without a spring training and should only get better as the season progresses. Having a shortstop who can play defense is incredibly reassuring as well.

Three Duds

Nick Pivetta (2.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER)

Pivetta picked a bad time to have a bad outing. I wouldn’t worry about him too much, as the stuff played the same as it had been, the command just wasn’t there. I still think the sweeper has started to unlock Pivetta to an extent, and he’ll be a big piece going forward.

Connor Wong

Wong ran into an out with the bases loaded and Rafael Devers at the plate in the eighth inning. Painful.

Justin Turner (0-5)

It’s hard to trash Turner too much, as he’s been the driving force behind the offense for a good chunk of the season. Tonight, he couldn’t find his way onto the bases. It happens.