Baseball can be downright silly.
The Red Sox scored three runs in the first two games of their series against the Mariners at Safeco Field. Then, Boston scored four runs Saturday against the best pitcher in the American League, Felix Hernandez, in a 4-2 win over Seattle.
Again, hilarious.
But Boston’s strange offensive outburst — if you want to call it that — wasn’t the only story to emerge from another late-night affair on the West Coast. Let’s dive into all of the goodness.
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— Rick Porcello did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Most importantly, he outpitched King Felix and earned the victory.
“You know who’s pitching on the other side,” Porcello told reporters in Seattle. “But at the end of the day, you have your game plan going into the game and your assignment is to get their hitters out, not pitching against the other pitcher.”
Porcello struck out six of the first 10 batters he faced, making it seem inevitable that he’d surpass his season-high total of seven K’s, set in his April 24 start against the Baltimore Orioles. But sure enough, because baseball is funny like that, he didn’t record another strikeout the rest of the way.
Porcello instead generated weak contact — outside of the two homers he surrendered to Brad Miller — en route to lasting 6 2/3 innings. It was more than enough for the Red Sox, who struck for two runs in the sixth inning against Hernandez to grab a 4-2 lead they’d never relinquish.
Porcello truly is a warrior of May. He’s now 20-7 with a 3.15 ERA in 34 career May starts. His .741 winning percentage during the month is the best among active pitchers with at least 25 decisions in May.
— David Ortiz snapped a 68-at-bat homerless drought. His first homer since April 24 was rather predictable, too, as Big Papi has feasted against King Felix in his career.
Ortiz, who went 2-for-2 against Hernandez, now is hitting .395 (15-for-38) with two homers and seven RBIs in his career versus the Mariners ace. Even the slugger has a hard time explaining the success.
Either way, you can bet the Red Sox are hoping Ortiz’s solo shot Saturday leads to even bigger things.
“My (stuff) is like grapes,” Ortiz told MLB.com of hitting home runs. “They come in bunches.”
— Xander Bogaerts, who made a few nice plays, really has improved defensively this season.
There were times last season when it was reasonable to question whether his long-term future would reside at third base because he didn’t look comfortable. The shortstop has shown better range and instincts in 2015, though, and there’s a calmness to his defense that he never seemed to have last season.
One could argue — based on fielding percentage, at least — that Bogaerts has been the best defensive shortstop in the American League this season.
— Speaking of solid defense, Daniel Nava has come a long way in a short time at first base.
— It’s still too early to make a final determination on Jackie Bradley Jr.’s future as a major league hitter, but the 25-year-old continues to look overmatched against big league pitching.
Bradley reached base twice (walk, fielder’s choice) but also went 0-for-3 and struck out twice. He’s now 0-for-11 since being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket, making him 1-for-47 with 14 strikeouts dating back to Sept. 6 of last season.
— Koji Uehara, who earned the save, didn’t allow a hit for the eighth consecutive appearance. Opposing hitters are 0-for-23 with eight strikeouts against Uehara since the closer’s blown save April 25 against the Baltimore Orioles.
— Red Sox starters have allowed just four runs over 27 2/3 innings (1.32 ERA) over the last four games.
— Rusney Castillo, who slugged two homers Friday at Pawtucket, collected three singles with the PawSox in a 14-inning loss. His average in the minors is up to .308.
Thumbnail photo via Jennifer Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
