Red Sox 9, Braves 0: Winning Wednesday

Red Sox fans seem resigned to the fact that the team will finish with 81 wins and 81 losses. The “Boston Mid Sox” are all over Twitter. Every Red Sox podcast will likely touch on the fact that if we win one, we’ll lose the next one, or vice versa. At a high level, that sucks. Rooting for a baseball team destined for mediocrity is a pretty lousy way to spend the summer. That being said, days like today still exist and it’s okay to enjoy them.

If you were fortunate enough to be one of the 33,000ish fans at Fenway today, I deeply envy you. Baseball is a 162-game season, followed by playoffs, with just one team winning it all. The Red Sox should be perennial contenders, but they aren’t. That’s just the reality of the situation right now. If your attitude is World Series or bust, and you can’t enjoy a wire-to-wire wind over a good team on a beautiful day, lighten up a bit. Today, regardless of the season-long outlook, was fun. You’ve got the rest of the summer to be angry about something, try enjoying a win every now and then.

Three Studs

Nick Pivetta (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB)

Nick Pivetta was absolutely dominant today. One hit, nine strikeouts, and no runs over seven innings against the Atlanta Braves. He executed his pitches and got out in front of hitters all afternoon, keeping them off balance on his way to 18 whiffs. It’s as good a performance from Pivetta as any pitcher the Red Sox have thrown this year, despite maybe Tanner Houck’s complete game shutout. His next start should come against the Phillies, but if he executes like today, the opponent isn’t overly important.

Rafael Devers (2-3, 2 HR)

My favorite part about Rafael Devers is the facial expressions and on-field antics. My second favorite part is that he can hit any pitch over the wall. His second-inning home run had no business getting out of the park, but he managed to stay inside the ball and flick it over the monster (.com). The summer of Raffy is upon us.

Jamie Westbrook (1-1)

Westbrook pinch-hit in the eighth inning and came through for his first major league hit with his family in attendance. Pretty cool.

No Duds

Why would there be a dud? It’s a 9-0 win against one of the best teams in the National League. Let’s go take at least three out of four games from the White Sox, and then keep the momentum going into the tough part of the schedule.