Pedey keeps pounding
Three more RBI from 2B help Sox dispatch Jays
Baseball is a young man’s game, but Dustin Pedroia is keeping the average age of MLB’s best players from sinking too fast.
On the same day that 30-year-old Pablo Sandoval was released by the Red Sox, the 33-year-old Pedroia continued his torrid summer with three more RBI in a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays last night at Fenway Park.
Pedroia, who has been hitting third with Xander Bogaerts beat up and in a slump, reached base three times, including two hits with runners in scoring position.
“He’s a money player,” Sox manager John Farrell said of Pedroia. “That’s been on display. It was again here tonight. He’s been the right man in the right spot.”
Not only did he push his on-base percentage to .386, the second-highest mark of his 12-year career, but the timing of his accolades continue to make Pedroia one of the most dangerous hitters in the American League.
He came through in the second inning last night. First, Deven Marrero hit a two-out, two-run RBI single to extend the inning. Three batters later, Pedroia hit another two-out, tworun single as the Sox took a 4-0 lead.
Mookie Betts stole second with two outs in the fourth and Pedroia drove him in for his 49th RBI of the season.
No, his power isn’t what it once was, though he does have three homers in his last 10 games, but Pedroia has now collected 14 hits in his last 25 times up with runners in scoring position.
Since Aug. 9, 2016, Pedroia is hitting .441 (52-for-118) with runners in scoring position, easily the best mark in baseball.
“I’m not surprised,” Farrell said of Pedroia’s strong season. “And that comes from just seeing how Pedey’s been able to adjust to a number of different things, whether it’s been hand, wrist, thumb, knee. He finds a way.
“He’s a unique player. And with a will that is so strong as his, he’s going to figure it out, and whether that’s through video work, through just feel in the cage, to understanding what he’s physically capable of, he’s going to figure it out.”
Five runs of support is about as much as the Red Sox provide their pitchers these days, but it was plenty for lefty Drew Pomeranz, a steady force in the middle of the rotation.
The Sox were careful not to push Pomeranz too far past 100 pitches during his first 12 months with the club, but as well as he’s been throwing lately, they seem to have lost that paranoia.
Pomeranz (10-4) was strong through 116 pitches last night, completing 62⁄ 3 innings while allowing just one unearned run in the fifth inning. The lefty has now thrown at least 100 pitches in four straight games. He has a 3.51 ERA on the season and a 2.62 ERA in his last 12 starts.
“I’ve always said, that is always a personal goal of mine to stay in the game longer,” Pomeranz said. “I’ve been pitching well, but I’ve been going six innings.”
Heath Hembree and Ben Taylor provided the relief in this one, tossing 21⁄3 innings of one-hit, no-run ball.
Marrero’s two-out hit shouldn’t be overlooked. Filling in for Bogaerts, who is out with a hand injury but should return today, Marrero played a strong game up the middle. He’s now collected 22 RBI in 46 times up with runners in scoring position this year, a stat that looks even better compared to that of Hanley Ramirez, who has 19 RBI in 99 times up with RISP.
“He’s had a knack for some RBIs,” Farrell said of Marrero. “Kind of throw away the batting average because there’s going to be something inside the game he’s going to impact. And the defender he is, he’s certainly stabilized the left side of the infield when he’s been on the diamond.”
There was only one downside to Pedroia’s strong game: His defense. The veteran made an error, his first in 115 games. He hadn’t committed an error since Aug. 19, 2016, the longest streak by a major league second baseman since 2012.
The game was played in a swift 2 hours, 47 minutes.
“The fact that it’s less than three hours, it almost felt like it was halftime,” Farrell said. “So this was a good win tonight.”