What occurs if you take essentially the most highly effective offense in baseball, match them up in opposition to the pitcher who has allowed essentially the most residence runs in baseball and put them in Fenway Park with 25 mph winds?
It’s not rocket science. Just rockets.
The Houston Astros blasted off on Nathan Eovaldi and the Red Sox in a 13-4 win on Tuesday night time.
“Every ball they hit, they were hitting it hard and they were flying out,” Eovaldi mentioned.
And whereas it may very well be written off as an anomaly due to excessive winds and a baseball that seemed decided to remain within the air so long as doable, it shouldn’t be.
Eovaldi is struggling and the Astros are loaded with energy up and down the lineup. They slugged 5 homers off Eovaldi within the second inning alone, changing into the third workforce in MLB historical past to hit 5 homers off a single pitcher in a single inning. They added a grand slam off Tyler Danish within the fourth inning, too.
They’ve received an MLB-best 55 residence runs (the Red Sox have 24) and are doing it in a manner that’s totally different than they did it when Alex Cora was there in 2017.
“They got pitches to hit and didn’t miss them,” Cora mentioned, including that the Astros have “a fast-break offense; they attack early and hit the ball in the air.”
Here’s a shocking statistic: the Astros really aren’t very aggressive.
It’s a workforce that swings at a below-average price (46.6%) however makes contact higher than most groups within the league (77.3%). This workforce merely doesn’t chase dangerous pitches. Most of their swings are within the zone.
In that manner, Dusty Baker’s Astros are the anti-Red Sox.
Eovaldi defined that he had a gameplan and a backup gameplan on Tuesday night time, however “if neither one of them work and they’re just attacking everything, it’s kind of a helpless feeling out there.”
The Astros have six gamers with a minimum of 4 homers; the Red Sox have two. They’ve received seven gamers with an OPS-plus of 119 or higher; the Sox have three, and each different participant has an OPS-plus of 95 or decrease. Nine Astros regulars have an on-base proportion of .282 or higher; the Red Sox have three.
We can discuss in regards to the Red Sox’ bullpen till the cows come residence, however that’s not what’s separating the Sox from the opposite high groups within the American League.
Look round: The Astros are main MLB in homers. The Yankees are second and Aaron Judge has 14 of them. The Angels are third. All three of these groups have 24 wins or extra. The Red Sox rank twenty seventh in homers. They have 14 wins.
Baseball is making an attempt to get away from a sport that depends on the three true outcomes, however it stays one. It’s a giant motive why the Red Sox shelled out $140 million to Trevor Story, who hit a house run each 18 at-bats whereas with the Rockies, however is hitting one residence run per 60 at-bats with the Red Sox.
The Sox’ offense is best than it has proven, however it’s getting killed in two areas: total energy, and depth behind its top-three hitters.
Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez have mixed to hit 15 residence runs. The remainder of the workforce has 9.
Story is underperforming, however the place else can the Sox count on to have an offensive resurgence? Kiké Hernandez is best than he’s proven, however he’s not an offensive celebrity; merely a superb participant who does all of the little issues effectively. The Sox had been banking on Alex Verdugo taking a giant step ahead, however he’s been in a month-long stoop. There’s no reply at first base, a defensive specialist in proper subject and an sufficient catching tandem.
Meanwhile, the Astros have two guys (Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve) with 40-home run seasons within the books, three extra guys with 30-homer seasons (Kyle Tucker, Yuli Gurriel and Yordan Alvarez) and a rookie, Jeremy Pena, who’s trying like the following Carlos Correa.
“They came out swinging and they didn’t miss any pitches,” catcher Kevin Plawecki mentioned. ”I haven’t seen it. They’re good hitters, and it’s a testomony to what these guys do over there. They’ve been doing it for a very long time. And you understand, it’s at all times a enjoyable battle going in opposition to these guys. They have a superb lineup.”
They even have one of many recreation’s true aces, Justin Verlander, a superb supporting workers round him.
And no, the Red Sox don’t should be the Astros. Few groups are that gifted.
But the house run explosion at Fenway Park on Tuesday night time was a reminder of how far aside these two groups are proper now.
Planets aside.
Source: www.bostonherald.com