Sox take it on the chin
Pitching depth costly again as A’s rock Velazquez
OAKLAND, Calif. — Taxes due, sun rises and Red Sox pitching depth fails to impress.
This one was a waste of everybody’s time.
If the season comes down to one game, think back to their 8-3 loss to the Oakland A’s on May 18 as the one the Red Sox punted.
Hector Velazquez wasn’t fooling anybody with his high-80s fastball. He had no put-away pitch. And his command, while acceptable, wasn’t nearly as sharp as it needed to be, though it’s not certain that mattered.
A curveball below the zone to Jed Lowrie was hit about as far as a changeup he left up to Khris Davis. Both cleared the fence.
While it was crystal clear in a three-run first inning when he allowed back-to-back homers to Lowrie and Davis that Velazquez wasn’t going to cut it against major league hitters, the Red Sox evidently had little choice but to keep him in the game and hope for the best. After a 13-inning game in which every reliever was used against the St. Louis Cardinals the night before, Velazquez had to take this one on the chin.
A seven-year veteran of professional baseball in Mexico, the right-hander was signed in spring training after a career year (2.37 ERA, 8.8 K/9). He got off to a strong start in Triple-A Pawtucket (1.55 ERA, 6.2 K/9) and the Red Sox made him the choice over Brian Johnson (2.92 ERA, 7.8 K/9) to replace Kyle Kendrick in the rotation, at least until David Price is ready to return.
The A’s rank 26th in MLB with 3.85 runs per game this season. Here’s how they welcomed Velazquez to the majors to start the first inning: Single, walk, home run, home run.
They scored three more in the fourth inning on a pair of belthigh pitches to Trevor Plouffe (RBI double) and a Chad Pinder (two-run homer).
The Red Sox squeezed their five innings and 101 pitches out of Velazquez, but at the cost of nine hits, two walks and six runs. He struck out four.
Robbie Ross Jr. replaced him and gave up two more.
Hanley Ramirez and Chris Young drove in a pair on a single and sacrifice fly to give the Red Sox a very brief 2-0 lead in the first inning against A’s starter Sonny Gray.
Mitch Moreland destroyed a solo shot to left-center in the third inning. Gray lasted six and gave up three.