Xander Bogaerts Delivers In The 10th Inning To Beat The Giants
Since June 8, 2015 — one year ago today — Xander Bogaerts leads the MLB in batting average (.336), during a span in which the league average has been .254.
In the top of the 10th inning, in the first of a brief two-game series against the San Francisco Giants, Bogaerts came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. And, much like he has done in almost every single game over the last month and a half — he got a hit. In fact, Bogaerts has only been held hitless THREE times over his last 37 games, or since April 28. The 23-year-old is hitting .379 with a .963 OPS over that span. Bogaerts’ blooper into center drove in a pair of runs, which won the game for Boston in 10 innings.
That’s why Red Sox fans and the media alike didn’t kill Bogaerts too much for his botched bunt attempt this past weekend. You knew that he was going to make it up to you, and that he was going to make it up to you soon. That’s just what he does, what’s he’s been doing, and what he’ll continue to do.
Rick Porcello got the start in this one, looking to rebound from his worst start of the year, after he allowed five earned runs and three home runs against the Baltimore Orioles his last time out. For as much shit as he’s been getting lately, that was only the first time all season that he’s allowed more than four earned runs in a start, and he’s only allowed four earned runs three times in 12 starts. But, the fact of the matter is that it’s very clear that he hasn’t been the same pitcher that he had been over his first seven starts in which he had a 3.11 ERA and an opponents batting average of .212.
In his last five starts, including his six-inning, 3 earned run performance against the Giants on Tuesday night, Porcello has a 5.52 ERA, while opponents are hitting him at a .265 clip and a .281 BABIP, so it’s not like hitters are just getting lucky, either. They’re slugging him at a .504 clip, so all this means is that they’re not hitting him all too often, but when they do, they’re hitting the shit out of the ball, as is reflected in the 6 home runs, 6 doubles and 2 triples he’s allowed. Of the 31 hits he’s given up over his last five starts, 14 of them have gone for extra bases.
Here’s the problem with Rick Porcello. In his first seven starts, opponents were hitting .230 with a .550 OPS when he threw pitches in the lower third of the strike zone, .214 with a .750 OPS in the middle third, and .179 with a .579 OPS in the upper third. Over his last five starts where he’s struggled, opponents are hitting .195 with a .713 OPS when he’s thrown pitches in the lower third of the strike zone, .333 with a .930 OPS in the middle third, and .280 with an .893 OPS in the upper third.
What’s all this mean? If Porcello could keep the ball down, he could be one of the best starting pitchers in the league. When he leaves pitches over the middle and up in the zone, they get hammered. And it looks like he got away with leaving pitches up through his first seven starts, but not so much anymore. As a sinkerball pitcher, it’s obvious that he needs to keep the ball down, but it’s even more obvious once you see how good he is when he actually does keep the ball down versus when he makes a mistake pitch.
Final score: Red Sox 5, Giants 3