![]() ![]() Still are starters born or are they made? Do they fall off their pedestal because of injury or inability to make it in such a competitive environment of the few? Or are they groomed a certain way by coaches as they develop? Team owners look for pitchers to fit into the crucial roles of mid-reliever and closer. The increase in offensive power, uses of performance enhancing drugs, and some players consistent ability to get on base has forced the opposing team to change their pitching strategy. Then the likes of Mariano Rivera and Jonathon Papelbon changed the way the defensive side of the game endures deep into games. It would be like that commercial from more than a few years back that had kids saying they would like to work their way up to middle management or aspire to other menial jobs.Typically the late-inning pitchers are strong enough to go for two inning, maybe three before the closer takes the field. I can not imagine any 18 year-old player wanting to set his sights on middle management. Then again, do young pitchers, at 18 to 20 years old, state that they want to be a relief pitcher? A closer? Highly doubtful.Injury, experience in the minors leagues, and skill development on the mound help make that decision. But riddled by injury many of them ended up in treatment, getting surgery, or traded to other teams. Most of the Red Sox minor league pitchers drafted by the likes of Theo Epstein and Ben Cherrington were guys they thought would become starters. One inning later, Chang delivered another RBI single to give the Sox a 5-1 lead in the fifth.It is too early in his tenure as President of Baseball operations to be sure what Dave Dombrowski will do with the pitchers in the farm system. Duran then stole second, putting him in position to score on a two-out Devers single to left for a 4-1 lead that ended Morton’s night. Yu Chang walked, stole second, and advanced to third on Murphy’s error before scoring on a Jarren Duran single. Instead, they remained aggressive on the bases, a strategy that keyed a pair of two-out runs in the fourth. Yet in the face of their misdeeds, the Sox didn’t shrink. First baseman Olson’s cross-diamond throw beat Yoshida by 20 feet, with third baseman Riley applying the tag to complete the 8-3-5 triple play - just the second such triple play in MLB history and first since 1884. Perhaps even more inexplicably, Yoshida - upon seeing Harris throw to first - took off for third. ![]() Barry Chin/Globe Staffĭuvall badly misread the flight of the ball, advanced almost to second, and retreated much too late to beat the throw of center fielder Michael Harris II back to first. Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida (7) reacts after was the third out in a rare 8-3-5 triple play in the third inning. But when Casas lofted a routine fly ball to right-center, utterly baffling decision-making by the runners produced a triple play. The Sox seemed poised to add to their advantage in the third, when they opened the frame with a Masataka Yoshida infield single and plunking of Duvall. Arroyo then ripped an infield single down to give the Sox a 2-1 lead. Back-to-back one-out singles by Justin Turner and Rafael Devers (11-pitch at-bat) set the stage for back-to-back two-out walks by Duvall and Triston Casas against Atlanta starter Charlie Morton, with the free pass to Casas - despite two erroneous called strikes from home plate ump Erich Bacchus - forcing in a game-tying run. The Sox immediately leapfrogged Atlanta in the bottom of the first. The double play - an L4, 1-5, for those keeping score - preserved a 1-0 game. And so, what appeared to be a run-scoring play instead became a bizarre double play when Schreiber tossed to third to appeal the timing of Riley’s break from the bag. But Riley had not stayed on the bag to tag up, instead breaking directly for the plate when he felt Arroyo had short-hopped the ball. ![]()
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