One game down. One more to go.
Hopefully for the Red Sox, the second one goes a little better after blowing a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Such is life for the Red Sox in 2020.
There were some positives in the first game of the day, though. Boston continued its offensive tear, especially in the home run department.
The Sox went yard four times in Game 1. Rafael Devers had two, going back-to-back with Alex Verdugo in the fifth inning, while Bobby Dalbec tied things up for Boston in the sixth to make for his fourth homer in just eight games.
Boston ended the contest with 13 home runs in just three games and 32nd in their last 19.
“If he just makes contact he does a lot of damage,” manager Ron Roenicke said of Dalbec in his postgame Zoom conference.
Boston didn’t win the first game of the twin bill, but they did get close.
“We did a nice job today. We came back on ’em and got the lead and got the people out. We wanted to finish the game but it didn’t work,” Roenicke said.
“We could make some plays a little bit better to help us but we’re doing a good job when we get behind of still battling and trying to come back.”
Here are some more notes from Game 1 of the Red Sox-Phillies doubleheader
— Rafael Devers got Boston on the board in the second, his first of the two home runs he hit Tuesday, to tie the game at one run apiece. And it was pretty special.
For one, the homer had an exit velocity of 116.5 miles per hour, making it not only the hardest-hit ball of his career, but the second-hardest-hit ball off the bat for a home run by a Red Sox player, per Statcast. (Hanley Ramirez takes the crown with a homer back in 2008.)
The third baseman has made a ton of progress in getting back to the offensive production we saw last season.
Per MLB.com’s Ian Browne, Devers turned his season-opening slump around to hit .323 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in his last 99 at-bats.
“He’s still probably not as consistent as he was last year for a long period of time but really good to see, and the high fastball, the home run he hit, was something that he’s been chasing too much of,” Roenicke said of Devers. “And that thing, that was really hit. So really good things from him.”
— Boston’s pitching staff walked eight batters in Game 1, allowing Phillies to take their base in every inning but the fifth. And Philadelphia capitalized.
Starting pitcher Martin Perez walked three guys in the third inning alone and six in total.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today but we were still able to compete,” Perez said in his postgame Zoom conference.
He turned it around after the third for two bounce-back innings, and would have earned the win had Boston not fallen apart in the seventh inning.
“The one goal that I have is to go out there and compete … and control what you can control,” Perez said. “That’s all you can do because everybody knows we haven’t been playing how we’re supposed to, but if we go out there and give it 100% every day, you can do the job and do the job well. That’s what we need to do. Go out there and compete every day and every night.”
“It always hurts you, no question. Walks have hurt us all year,” Roenicke said.
Fortunately, Boston has a chance to do that immediately in Game 2.
Thumbnail photo via Mitch Stringer/USA TODAY Sports Images
