PROFESSIONAL EFFORT
When Sox needed it most, O’Sullivan shows Buchholz how it’s done
Let’s say the Tom Brady intervention isn’t enough to bring Kevin Durant to Boston. Any chance the Celtics could turn to Sean O’Sullivan?
That’s precisely what the Red Sox did yesterday. Just hours after Saturday night’s 21-2 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Angels, embattled manager John Farrell sent O’Sullivan to the mound for the series finale hoping the journeyman right-hander could avoid doing what Saturday’s starter, Clay Buchholz, did.
Which is embarrass the entire organization.
Instead, O’Sullivan pitched shutout ball for five innings in the Sox’ 10-5 victory against the Angels.
Yes, he did give up two straight hits to open the sixth inning before Farrell came out to get him, and, naturally, both those runners eventually scored because this is the Red Sox bullpen.
Yes, he had some help from his defense, notably a great running catch by center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., which was then converted into a double play.
Yes, the Angels were atrocious on the basepaths, such as when Yunel Escobar, one of baseball’s biggest blockheads, led off the game with a sharp single to left-center only to be gunned down by 20 feet at second by Bradley.
But let’s not quibble: The Red Sox were desperate for somebody to step up yesterday, and that’s precisely what O’Sullivan did. He received a rousing ovation when Farrell came out to get him in the sixth, and, well, let’s stop right here and point out that it was really, really cool to see.
“That was, I’d say, one of the highlights of my career for
sure,” O’Sullivan said.
Now then, what does all this mean in terms of The Big Picture? The Red Sox did, after all, take two of three against the Angels, right? Right?
True. They did. But it was a goofy, awkward two-out-of-three against the Angels, and it creates more questions than answers. While the Red Sox did capture the series opener on Friday night, Farrell was criticized for not lifting starter Steven Wright after it started to rain. (See: Rain, effects on knuckleball.)
As for Saturday’s one-sided loss, it didn’t go unnoticed that Buchholz showed up his team by disappearing up the runway after being lifted in the fifth inning with runners on base. Speaking with reporters after the game, he said, “I only gave up three runs. Wasn’t the worst performance I had all year.”
Lordy.
And yesterday? Yes, the defense was crisp and the offense beat up on Angels pitching. But both Matt Barnes and Junichi Tazawa struggled in relief of the gallant O’Sullivan, thus serving as a reminder that no lead is safe these days.
The Red Sox have now played 81 games. The season is half over. The good news? They’re in the wild card hunt, and they’re just three games behind firstplace Baltimore in the American League East.
The bad news? It’s been a late spring/early summer of meh for the Red Sox, who are 18-21 since June 1.
But as Farrell correctly pointed out, “The great thing about coming back the next day is we can turn the page and put it behind us. It was a good bounce-back win, a much-needed series win.”
Brock Holt put it this way: “I feel like the second half is gonna be good for us. Just go out and play the game hard, play it the right way and everything else will take care of itself.”
Which brings us back to Sean O’Sullivan, who took Holt’s advice yesterday and went out and played hard. The man is 28 years old and has pitched in the big leagues for the Angels, Royals, Padres, Phillies and, beginning this season, the Red Sox. Buried in the fine print, too, is a minor league season with the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
When teammates told him yesterday he’d be pitching against his former team, his ready response was, “Half the league’s my former team.”
He came into the game with a 12-23 lifetime record and 6.03 ERA.
Yet — and we must stoop to the appropriate cliche here — he went out and gave it everything he had.
Just wondering when Clay Buchholz last took that attitude into a game.