Editor's
note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how
hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team
temperatures on game days.
Just when Boston didn't think it could get any worse, Chris Tillman
took the mound.
Tillman shut down the Red Sox' hitters, allowing just one hit over eight innings
of work on Friday, and left Boston fans begging for mercy. The Sox hoped they could play spoiler to the Orioles' late-season playoff push, but that seems like a stretch at this point, too.
The Boston offense has cooled off significantly, and that became painfully
apparent with the terrible outing against Tillman. The only Red Sox hitter to
record a hit was Scott Podsednik.
The issue for the Red Sox this season is that the year has been a tale of two teams. During the first half, the Sox were a run-scoring machine with fight and resolve that
wouldn't quit despite poor backing from the pitching staff. During this second half, the hitters have gone stale. The offense, or what's left of it, is still being led by
veterans Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. Ellsbury has been the hottest player lately and will likely remain at the top for the rest of the
season.
Contrary to the Red Sox, the Orioles have everything to play for. Still locked in a tight race with New York, the O's are looking to
win the division outright and avoid a one-game playoff that could send them
home before their playoff run even begins.
This Orioles lit up Aaron Cook on Friday, led
offensively by Chris Davis, Ryan Flaherty and Manny
Machado. Veteran slugger Jim
Thome has also gotten in on the Birds' feeding frenzy, batting a healthy
.333 with a home run and six RBIs over his last six games.
Check
out the temperatures for both the Red Sox and Orioles for Saturday, Sept. 29,
below:
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, 80
Dustin Pedroia, 78
Mike Aviles, 72
Ryan Kalish, 72
Guillermo Quiroz, 71
Scott Podsednik, 69
Danny Valencia, 67
Che-Hsuan Lin, 66
James Loney, 64
Mauro Gomez, 63
Daniel Nava, 59
Pedro Ciriaco, 58
Cody Ross, 56
Ivan De Jesus, 56
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 51
Ryan Lavarnway, 47
Jose Iglesias, 46
Orioles
Chris Davis, 87
Ryan Flaherty, 86
Manny Machado, 82
Jim Thome, 77
Nate McLouth, 77
J.J. Hardy, 73
Bill Hall, 73
Xavier Avery, 72
Wilson Betemit, 72
Luis Exposito, 71
LJ Hoes, 71
Nick Markakis, 71
Matt Wieters, 71
Taylor Teagarden, 71
Steve Tolleson, 70
Lew Ford, 69
Mark Reynolds, 69
Omar Quintanilla, 67
Robert Andino, 64
Endy Chavez, 61
Adam Jones, 58
