BOSTON — After falling to the Los Angeles Angels 21-2 on Saturday, the Red Sox desperately needed a series win. And that’s exactly what spot starter Sean O’Sullivan gave them.
The right-hander wasn’t perfect, but he did what was expected of him, giving up just two runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts over five innings. But as O’Sullivan exited the game after two batters in the sixth, something a little unexpected happened: He received a standing ovation from the Fenway Park crowd.
“I think it speak to how intelligent our fans are,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said after the 10-5 win. “They know that Sean comes up here in a spot-start situation, a guy that’s been up once before, paid his dues, has showed a lot of perseverance over the course of his career, so when he walks off the mound not allowing a run to that point, yeah, our fans understand who he is, where he’s from and the job that he did (Sunday).”
Not even O’Sullivan was expecting how he was received, calling it “one of the highlights of (his) career.” And for a guy who has spent his seven career seasons in seven different organizations, that means a lot to him.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” O’Sullivan said. “One of the guys said, ‘Hey, you’re facing your former team.’ I was like, ‘Well, half the league’s my former team.’ So, pretty good shot I’ve worn the jersey. But I’ve really — I think I’ve enjoyed my time here more than anywhere else at this point. The team’s great, the staff’s great, the environment, the fans are awesome. If I could make this place home, that’d be fantastic.”
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Here are some more notes from Sunday’s win.
—Â The Red Sox haven’t made a decision on whether Clay Buchholz will make his next start, but O’Sullivan just made quite the case for him not to do so.
“We’re working through it, but (O’Sullivan) certainly hasn’t hurt his chances,” Farrell said. “Exactly what we’re looking for. Stabilize the game from the outset, and he did that today.”
— Sandy Leon hasn’t slowed down since being called up, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, three runs and a big double Sunday. Farrell wouldn’t say what Boston’s catching situation would be once Ryan Hanigan returned from the disabled list, but he had plenty of praise for Leon.
“You can point back to everyday play this winter,” Farrell said. “He made incredible value of the time down there, to his credit. He’s worked on some things offensively, and to see that he’s doing it on both sides of the plate, that’s what’s most encouraging.
“But he came into camp in great shape, his timing was more consistent than when we got him a year ago, and it’s carried throughout the time in Pawtucket up to here now. So all the credit goes to Sandy for what he’s honed in on the hitting side of things.”
— It seems as though David Ortiz reaches a new milestone every day, and that was the case Sunday. The designated hitter hit a two-run double in the fifth inning for his 1,157th extra-base hit, which moved him into a 12th-place tie with Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski on baseball’s all-time list.
Ortiz also collected his 65th and 66th RBIs, which is the most by a Red Sox hitter in the first 81 games since Adrian Gonzalez had 73 in 2011.
— The Red Sox officially are halfway through their season and sit just three games out of first place in the American League East after the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. But there’s still one obvious thing Boston must work on in the second half.
“Well, the key without a doubt will be to stabilize our pitching, particularly in the rotation,” Farrell said. “Whoever that might be internally, how we sort through some things — so to this point in the schedule, I think this is a very good offensive team. … We still have areas of improvement. And we’re seeking and exhausting every opportunity to do that from within. We’ll see what transpires as we go forward through the month of July.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
