Big impact from 3 stars
Most deserving go to Miami
TORONTO — In situations like this, the numbers always come first. So, here are the numbers.
This weekend alone, Mookie Betts reached base 12 times, stole three bases, scored seven runs and hit his Red Soxleading 14th and 15th homers of the year, all while maintaining his major league lead in defensive runs saved. The right fielder moved into the top five in the American League in Wins Above Replacement.
Chris Sale pitched his latest gem Saturday, going seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.61 while getting 11 more strikeouts to expand his major league lead in that category. It was his 11th double-digit strikeout game of the year.
Craig Kimbrel was his menacing self on Friday, when a perfect 11th inning ended with his AL-leading 23rd save. He has the most strikeouts-per- nineinnings and the lowest WHIP (walks and hits allowed per innings pitched) of any pitcher with at least 30 innings this season.
Numbers like that put players on AllStar teams, and so there was no surprise yesterday when Betts, Sale and Kimbrel were each named to the AL squad. Even less surprise that all three were selected on the players’ ballots, recognized by their peers as three of the truly elite players in the game.
“(Sale and Kimbrel) have kind of been our backbone,” Betts said. “Just being part of the All-Star (Game) in general (is special), but going with those guys is definitely something special.”
The three Red Sox All-Stars have undeniable numbers, but their value to the club is more than the sum of their stats. It’s easy to list the reasons they’ll be playing in Miami a week from tomorrow. It’s harder to quantify their total impact on a team that’s taken hold of the AL East heading into the final week before the break.
With Betts, it’s the do-it-all ability and whatever-you-need approach. Move up and down the lineup. Hit two homers yesterday, draw three walks the day before. This guy can do everything, which means the Sox can ask him to do anything.
“He’ll be right where he was last year, maybe better,” Xander Bogaerts said. “That’s the type of guy that he is, the type of talent that he has. He can put the team on his back and just (carry) us into the playoffs.”
With Sale, it’s the trickle-down effect of his every-fifth-day brilliance. He’s pitched through the seventh inning in 13 of his 17 starts. The nine other Red Sox starters have combined to pitch that deep only seven times, meaning Sale has been the only source of consistent rest for the bullpen.
“It’s special,” Kimbrel said. “I mean, what he brings to a team, the excitement, just the energy he brings when he starts, every time he starts, you know you’re going to have a chance to see a great-pitched ballgame. That kind of feeds off to the rest of the team.” And for Kimbrel, it’s the confidence the Sox have in knowing the ninth inning is secure. The one time he blew a save in the ninth, Kimbrel stayed in to finish off a comeback win in the 10th. Opposing Nos. 1-3 hitters are combined 2-for-43 against him, good for a .047 average with 22 strikeouts. His fellow Sox relievers have not matched Kimbrel’s dominance, but they’ve pitched well in his shadow.
“I think there’s a dynamic that’s always been present in the bullpen when you’ve got pitchers coming to the mound knowing there’s protection behind them,” manager John Farrell said. “They pitch a little bit more free, like there’s not the impetus to be like every pitch has to be perfect. So, they work as a unit, and when that guy is Craig Kimbrel in our case, that gives every guy down there added confidence.”
If Bogaerts wins the vote for the final roster spot, the Sox group will be complete. There’s a case to be made for Jackie Bradley Jr., who brings his own intangibles in the way he guides the outfield defense, but it’s Bogaerts who most deserves the nod. He’s been a source of stability for a team of inconsistency.
“Any time I can go with kind of like my brother, that would be great,” Betts said. “He’s had a great year. He’s done everything right and everything well. Obviously, I want him to come.”
Numbers can lie and deceive. For these Red Sox, though, the numbers got it right. All-Stars tend to carry more weight when their impact goes beyond the box score.
“Obviously, being on a new team, being in a new city, makes it a little bit more special,” Sale said.
If the league’s really been paying attention, they’ll give Sale the ball to start, let Kimbrel come in to close, and keep their eyes open for Betts to do anything and everything in between.
‘(Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel) have kind of been our backbone. . . . Going with those guys is definitely something special.’ — MOOKIE BETTS, on his teammates headed with him to Miami as All-Stars