Dead Soxy: WS Game 1 Wrap, Game 2 Preview
| 16
|
by Tylersalt, AGM Boston Red Sox Beat Writer
Red Sox Win Game 1, 13-1
Dustin Pedroia led off the game with a solo home run just inches over the Green Monster, and the Boston Red Sox never looked back. The Sox batters backed another dominant performance by Josh Beckett (W, 4-0) with an offensive explosion, scoring runs in four of the first five innings including a 7-run fifth. Third baseman Mike Lowell was the only Boston starter to not record an RBI.
| W: | Josh Beckett | (4-0, 1.20) |
| L: | Jeff Francis | (2-1, 4.88) |
After the game, on his blog, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis (who has been absolutely on fire since the beginning of the ALCS) said,
| Recent Dead Soxy Reports |
|
|
6 votes 
1 comment"I think what we did against Cleveland really carried over and not having a lot of days off really helped. We got back in the swing of things tonight and we have to keep playing because this is a tough team across the way. The score tonight doesn't say it all. This team is going to play a lot tougher the next couple of games and we've got to take advantage of our opportunities. We can't look at the score. We just have to keep playing inning to inning and try to win each inning."
I think that shows that the Red Sox are far from taking this Colorado team lightly -- clearly the 8-day layoff that the Rockies had was a problem, but that problem evaporates now. They'll be back into the swing of things tonight, the hitters and pitchers should have their timing back, and the Rox will be back to their formidable selves.
| Worth His Salt: Pedroia is my "Worth His Salt" player of the game for Game 1. Beckett was dominant, and David Ortiz actually lead all the hitters in WPA with +0.89, but Pedroia's leadoff homer off of Jeff Francis (L, 2-1) really set the tone for the Red Sox offensively and immediately legitimized all the questions the media has had about the 8-day layoff the Rockies had to suffer through after sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks and having to wait for the seven-game ALCS to finish. This series is not over by a long shot, but the momentum right now is squarely with Boston, and Pedroia had a big part in that. |
| Spilled the Salt: Ryan Speier came into the game in the fifth inning, relieving Franklin Morales with the bases loaded. He immediately walked three straight Red Sox batters, forcing in three runs, and left the game without recording an out. All those runs got charged to Morales, and Francis put them in the hole to begin with, but Speier was the pitcher that really broke Colorado's back in this game. The Rockies pitching has got to be better if they want to keep this series competitive and have a chance to take it. They really do not want to go back to Denver down 2-0. | 
|
Game 2: Boston Leads 1-0
| VS. | ||
 |  | |
Ubaldo Jimenez
Right-handed rookie Ubaldo Jimenez can throw serious heat (up around the century mark), and he's going to need to be able to change speeds consistently to contain the Red Sox bats tonight. Jimenez has never faced the Red Sox, so that could give him an advantage in the early going -- look for the Rockies to try to jump out to an early lead tonight if Jimenez can hold off Boston's offense for the first few innings.
Long swingers [[J.D. Drew] and Dustin Pedroia are going to be hard pressed to get around and get good contact on Jimenez's fastball. They'll have to try to jump it and start their swings much earlier, which sets them up nicely for the off-speed stuff. Jimenez could have his hands more full with the heart of the Red Sox order, as David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Mike Lowell are all good fastball hitters. As I said above, the key for Ubaldo tonight is going to be his ability to change speeds and keep the Red Sox hitters off-balance. If he can do that for long enough and give the Rockies offense time to get to Schilling, the Rockies will be in good shape.
Who needs to be Worth His Salt against Jimenez?
- The middle of the order (as above). The best fastball hitters on the team need to be on their game.
- Kevin Youkilis, who sees more pitches per at-bat than any other player in the majors, must be patient and take advantage of Jimenez's penchant to lose control of his fastball and walk hitters (his 2007 BB/9 was over 4).
Curt Schilling
Schilling's reinvention as a finesse pitcher has gone fairly well for him, and he'll need to bring his A-game against this Rockies lineup. Since Schilling does not have overpowering velocity on his fastball anymore, he relies on throwing his splitter out of the zone on 2-strike counts and getting hitters to offer at it, either making weak contact or missing altogether. Unfortunately for Schilling, the Rockies have very good plate discipline as a whole, and will not swing and miss at breaking balls, especially ones out of the zone.
As I said in my preview of Schilling's last start in ALCS Game 6, Curt gets in trouble when his fastball and splitter are up in the zone. This will be especially true against a very good high-ball hitting team in Colorado in the small Fenway Park. If Schilling starts leaving his fastball up at belt level or higher and is unable to throw his splitter in the dirt, it could be a very quick exit for him. Schilling does not walk anybody, and so the Rockies will need to swing the bats to get on base. The Rockies scored 6 runs on 9 hits over 5 innings in beating Schilling back in June at Fenway.
Who needs to be Worth His Salt against Schilling?
- Matt Holliday. Holliday's bat was quiet in Game 1 (0-4, 2 K), and he'll have to pick up the pace as a veteran hitter against Schilling. The younger hitters on the team could have a tendency to chase Schilling's fastball, so Holliday will have to get on base and produce runs to make up for it.
- Todd Helton. Some of the same reasons as Holliday, but also because he is a lefty and has seen Schilling more than any other Colorado hitter. Helton is a lifetime .333 hitter against him, with 5 HR and 11 RBI. Schilling also gave up twice as many home runs to lefties than to righties this year. As he has gotten older, Helton's power has been much more exclusively to right field, so he will definitely be looking to pull the ball.
Sources: Dugout Central, Yahoo! Sports, FanGraphs, The Baseball Analysts, MLB.com
