Chavis, bullpen get job done
Firsts for Chavis, Workman in victory
Watching Astros center fielder George Springer lead the American League with 17 homers while hitting out of the leadoff spot gave Alex Cora some inspiration.
No, Mookie Betts isn’t going back to the leadoff spot (not yet anyway), but why not try a different power bat?
With the left-handed Wade Miley on the hill for the ‘Stros yesterday, the Red Sox gave Michael Chavis a chance to hit leadoff while usual leadoff hitter Andrew Benintendi took a seat on the bench.
“Just watching the other side, why not?” Cora said before the Sox’ 4-3 win. “Swing hard and hit it out of the ballpark. See what happens.”
It worked perfectly, as Chavis went 2-for-4 with a home run.
“Before the game, I told him nothing changes,” Cora said. “Just go out there and try to get a good pitch and put a good swing. I like that. I really do.”
Chavis has hit mostly sixth or seventh, with the occasional start hitting fourth or fifth. He’s striking out in about 25 percent of his plate appearances, but with eight homers and an on-base percentage near .400 through 25 major league games, there are reasons to give him a try in the leadoff spot, at least against lefties.
“I don’t exactly try to hit home runs,” he said. “One of the things I think about is, you try to hit the ball hard, not far. If you catch barrel usually it goes. So I’m not out there trying to hit home runs. It’s just a product of what I’m trying to do with my swing.”
Benintendi is hitting just .211 with a .649 OPS against lefties this year, which is in line with his career .232 average and .643 OPS off them.
With Betts still hitting second, Xander Bogaerts was moved up to hit third, J.D. Martinez was moved down to fourth and catcher Christian Vazquez was hitting fifth. “Have to be careful with all these guys now, especially the stretch we’re about to be in,” playing 33 games in 33 days, Cora said. “Just start playing with different lineups, different options. I think at one point I had J.D. Martinez leading off I think. Nah, I’m not going to do that.”
Bogaerts excelled out of the three-spot, where he’s been crushing lefties all year. He was 2-for-4 yesterday and is hitting .343 off lefties.
First for Workman
First it was Matt Barnes. Then Ryan Brasier. Then Heath Hembree. And yesterday, Brandon Workman became the fourth Red Sox closer of the 2019 season.
Workman pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the bottom of the Astros’ order, walking one and striking out two for his first career save.
“Yeah, it took me a little longer than I’d have liked,” said Workman, who has a 2.21 ERA. “It was nice to get that. It was exciting obviously. It was cool.”
Cora said all along he wouldn’t have one closer this season, and the way it’s played out so far is exactly how he envisioned. Brasier has six saves, Barnes has three and Hembree and Workman each have one.
Barnes the key
The Sox wanted to do it this way “because Barnes is that good,” Cora said. “I knew coming into the season that the was going to be able to do what he’s doing right now. This doesn’t happen without him.”
Barnes faced the heart of the order in the eighth, striking out Carlos Correa on a curveball in the 11th pitch of the at-bat.
With 35 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings this year, Barnes is enjoying his new role, when he pitches not based on inning, but based on the part of the lineup.
“It’s easy now because I’ve developed a routine in how I do it, what I’m looking for,” he said. “And I’ve accumulated a number of ABs against a lot of these guys now so I know what works and what doesn’t work.”
Ace in the hole
Marcus Walden saved Chris Sale. He entered in the sixth with the bases loaded and only one out, but induced an inning-ending double play. Sale called it the biggest moment of the game.
Walden hasn’t allowed a run in eight consecutive innings and has a 1.37 ERA overall.
“He’s been unbelievable for us all year,” Sale said. “He’s been kind of our unsung hero, you don’t hear a whole lot but we know internally what he’s done. You look at his stuff, it’s up there with anybody. It’s disgusting. He throws strikes. Power guy with some really good stuff. So I was obviously really pumped seeing him running through the gates.”