Thanks to baseball-reference.com and Boston.com for this info regarding rare feats in baseball history.
On Thursday in ‘08 Game #50, against the Royals, J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slam homers. Here are the facts:
- The two grand slams in a game was the 72d time that’s happened in the big leagues.
- The Red Sox have done it 10 times, more than any other team.
On Monday, we all know Jon Lester tossed the 18th no-hitter in Red Sox history, also against the Royals.
- Since 1956, there have been 136 no-hitters.
So one team hitting 2 slams in one game is more rare than a no-hitter. By a lot. Just thought that was interesting.
Also interesting – Oracle of Baseball finds the link between any two major league players by a shortest possible list of teammates. I thought it would be fun to find the link between Lester and Nolan Ryan – the only 2 pitchers to toss no-hitters against the KC Royals. Hey, why not right.
The first link that come up was:
Lester –> Jason Varitek –> Darren Oliver –> Nolan Ryan.
There are a lot of different connections – what a fun tool.
The ‘08 Sox are behind the ‘07 Sox, record-wise, after the first four dozen games.
Last year’s club had a 33-15 record, with 25 quality starts pitched at this point. The team was 19-6 when the starter earned a QS. Starter’s ERA was a collective 3.93 in 297 2/3 innings pitched. The club had an impressive 11 game lead over the second place Blue Jays (22-26) after 48 games last year.
The ‘08 team is 29-19, with 25 quality starts, with a 17-8 record in those games. The starter’s have pitched fewer innings (287 1/3 IP) and have a slightly lower ERA (3.92). The Sox have a 1 game lead over Tampa at this point.
QUALITY START REPORT ANALYSIS
REASON #1: OFFENSE
The offense in 2007 had a slightly better start, scoring 13 more runs over the first 48 games. Not a huge difference. So what, do I hypothesize, makes up for the 4 game difference in record? The bullpen and defense have both been down a bit over 2007. Is that enough for a four game difference? Well, maybe. Here is a little bit more detail on “run prevention”. In 2007, through 48 games, the Sox had allowed only 183 runs, 130 were earned runs allowed by the starters. This year’s club, has allowed 210 runs, 27 more in total, and more than a half a run per game. The starters have allowed 125 earned runs, a smaller total then the ‘07 team. So, where are the other runs allowed? The bullpen and errors.
REASON #2: Improved AL EAST (except the NYY)
Another issue is that the division is better. The Sox have been swept on the road by the Rays, Orioles, and Blue Jays already in 2008. That accounts for 8 of the 19 losses right there. The Sox have lost 8 quality starts all season, seven of those losses are in the division. A split in those games, certainly conceivable and possibly even disappointing by 2007 standards, and the ‘08 club would be level with the ‘07 start. That being said, and thinking back to the games in Toronto, the Trop, and at Camden, what is the one issue that pops into mind? BULLPEN. Followed in a close second by poor run production by the offense, that certainly sputtered against the strong Jays staff at the end of the first road series (yeah, remember, 3 countries) and then again against the improving Rays staff (5 runs in 3 games) at the end of April.
A possible REASON #3: The defense.
I am not convinced of a ‘fatal’ flaw in the defense, as was noted in 2004 by Theo, but it is something that I am going to keep an eye on. Julio Lugo has certainly been the source of most errors by the team, which seems otherwise quite sound defensively. The bullpen has truly been troubling at times, especially shortly after the Japan trip. An improving Craig Hansen, a stable Manny Delcarmen, and a healthy Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima over the next couple of months will certainly help get the Sox a comfortable AL East lead.
Nine Innings Pitched. No runs. Two walks. Nine Strikeouts. AND No HITS!
JL#31 pitches a no-no at the Fens. And the rumor is true, I did get offered a ticket to the game. No, I was not there. Long story.
Lester threw first strikes to 20 of 29 hitters. He fanned eight batters overall, including seven over the last five innings. He threw a career-high 130 pitches. It was his first career complete game.
To date, I thought JL31’s best performance was in an eight inning, one-hitter in Game 28 of this season in a duel with Doc Halladay. Obviously, this moves to the top of the chart. Including that start on April 29th, Jon’s last five outings have been very good. He is 2-0, with 34 1/3 innings pitched, with a 1.57 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP, and only 1 home run. Four of the five outings have been quality starts and during the span, he has lowered his ERA two whole runs (from 5.40 to 3.41). The no-hitter is the high point of what has been a very good stretch by the lefty.
Here’s the QS Bottom-Line:
| Game 47 | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| JL #31 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 130-86 | 3.41 |
from multimedia.boston.co posted with vodpod
The End Result:
No-no for Lester! Anyone who knows me knows that JL is my guy – he and Lowell are the only two Sox jerseys I own. We have the cancer-survivor connection going. I cried the day he was diagnosis, I cried again the day he came back, I cried when he won the 4th game of the World Series. And I cried last night. To top it off, I cried this morning watch the replay of the game. That is about all I can say about how I feel about the guy.
| Red Sox Record: | 28-19 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 24 |
| Record in QS games: | 16-8 |
A Look Ahead:
Justin Masterson takes the Fenway mound for the second time tonight against the Royals. Masterson, in his MLB debut in April, faced the Halos and was impressive over 5 innings, allowing only 2 hits. Tomorrow night, with me in attendance, Bartolo Colon, he who is rotund, will take the bump in his season and Sox debut.
I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that JL #31’s quality start was the fifth in five games for the Sox. Finally, some consistency comes to the rotation at the end of April. Dice-K upped the streak to 6 and helped the Sox finish the month of April with a 16-8 record. Dice-K, stratched from his last start because of the flu, looked strong in this one. He tossed seven innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks, and no runs. This last number was pretty important, as again the Sox offense sputtered.
| Game 29 | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| DM #18 | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 111-69 | 2.52 |
The End Result:
Quality start for Dice-K, and one for McGowan of the Jays as well. This is the 13th quality start thrown by an opposing pitcher this year, and the 5th in the last 6 games. The Sox bats are not lengthening at bats, being patient, and getting starters out of games early. That has been the formula, and they are just not executing in the batters box lately. The saving grace for the Sox has been the starters in the last turn of the rotation. Masterson, Wakefield, Buchholz, Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K have each hit the quality start barrier in the past week.
| Red Sox Record: | 17-12 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 16 |
| Record in QS games: | 10-6 |
A Look Ahead:
The Sox go for the sweep with Wakefield on the bump tonight. Can Wakefield get the QS streak to 7? Can the Sox bats solve Aj Burnett? Good questions. First game of May – tonight at Fenway, 7:05 PM first pitch.
Jon Lester #31 v. Doc Halladay. You’d think that the Sox would be in a little trouble in this one, given Doc’s recent stretch of complete games and the Sox lineup’s trouble in the Trop. Well, that part held true. The Sox only managed one run, in the ninth. Lester did not get the win, but he matched Halladay pitch for pitch in this one, undoubtedly throwing his best game of his young career to date. Just check out the line….
Here’s the QS Bottom-Line:
| Game 28 | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| JL #31 | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 97-58 | 4.31 |
The End Result:
Lester now has 3 QS in 7 starts. This was by far his best performance of the season, and the Sox needed it tonight. They again struggled at the plate. He was more efficient than his typical outing, with only 97 pitches in 8 innings. Thanks to 2 double play groundouts, he faced only 27 batters. That is a quality start! Now we need to see Jon get some consistency and put back to back starts together, something he has failed to do up to this point in 2008.
| Red Sox Record: | 16-12 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 15 |
| Record in QS games: | 9-6 |
A Look Ahead:
The Sox have won 60% of their quality starts, an adequate percentage, but not close to the 72% of the 2007 club. The bats need to get going a little bit, and hopefully they can get the better of the DiceK v. McGowan matchup in tonight’s game.
Well, this past weekend in Tampa was certainly an unique one for the Boston Red Sox. Three quality starts and three losses. Ouch! On the back of losing the last 2 at home to the Halos, the Sox have now lost five in a row. They were 15-7 at the start of this stretch, now only 15-12 and are in a three-way tie for first place in the AL East. When you toss 3 quality starts in a series and get swept, you gotta look at the offense and the bullpen for some answers. At great issue this weekend was the lineup, generating only 5 runs in the 3 games. Yikes! Give credit to the Rays starters, who also collected 2 quality starts, for getting the job done. Only Matt Garza of the six starters in the sweep did not get a quality start, falling one inning short of the definition.
My thoughts, lets put this quick trip to Tampa behind us as quickly as possible and look ahead to the chance for redemption next weekend back in the Fens.
| Game 25 | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| TW #49 | 6.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 113-70 | 4.06 |
| Game 26 | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| CB #61 | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 113-76 | 4.08 |
| Game 27 | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| JB #19 | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 107-70 | 4.10 |
The End Result:
Sox have now dropped 5 in a row, despite 4 straight quality starts. So much for the quality starts equals wins theory. If the offense can get going soon while the pitching is going good, that would help. Hello, lineup? Where are you?
That being said, I like what I saw from Buchholz and Beckett. Definitely this was Buchholz’s best outing this season, eight strong innings, although you’d have to wish he’d get one pitch back, the one that Iwamura deposited into the bleachers. That was the ballgame on Saturday night. Beckett just got outhurled by the Rays’ ace James Shields.
| Red Sox Record: | 15-12 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 14 |
| Record in QS games: | 8-6 |
A Look Ahead:
The Sox return home to face the Blue Jays and the Rays this coming week. Good news that they are at home, as the Sox have already been swept in 2 series against the Jays/Rays on the road. Going in to the homestand, the Sox have a season-long streak of 4 straight quality starts.
The surprise of surprises came today in a last minute ticket offer to my wife and we got to see the major league debut of young Justin Masterson. The sinkerballer pitched well, going six innings and giving up only 1 earned run, a homer by Mike Napoli in the fifth. He allowed only 2 hits and walked 4. A solid outing for a rookie, we’ll give him a B+.
Interesting personal fact – the last time a Sox starter made his big league debut at Fenway was Clay Buchholz last August. This start was also against the LAA. And my wife and I were also in attendance. Pretty cool.
The bullpen gets an F! The rotation produces a quality start, and the bullpen just squandered it away. Four relievers allowed 6 runs in 3 innings. Yikes. That was ugly. The Sox lost, even though a majestic bomb by Big Papi in the ninth did make the final score interesting, 7-5 Halos. And as we feared, the Sox lose their first home series of the season.
The End Result:
Sox lose for the second night in a row and now have to head to the Trop to face the Devil Rays. They have not lost two straight games since Toronto on April 5 and 6, 17 games ago. Short losing streaks certainly are a good sign. During those 17 games, the Sox starters produced 7 quality starts, not an outstanding number. You would have to say it has been the offense carrying the load during this stretch of 12-5 baseball, scoring 105 runs (6.2 per game).
| Red Sox Record: | 15-9 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 10 |
| Record in QS games: | 8-3 |
A Look Ahead:
Down in the Trop, Matt Garza will face Wake in the opener, followed by Buchholz v. Edwin Jackson. Not 100% sure who will start on Sunday for the Sox, it could be Beckett, and he would face James Shields. Sox can increase their lead in the East with a series win on the road.
For the second night in a row, the Sox had to scratch their starting pitcher and the end result was the end of their six-game losing streak. Jon Lester, on three days’ rest, filled in for the flu-stricken Dice-K, and pitched 5 adequate innings. Nothing spectacular out of Jon, but he did leave the game with the score tied.
The End Result:
With only 10 quality starts in 23 outings for the rotation, I would have to say that the rotation has underperformed at this point in the season. Despite being seven games above .500, the team needs to get healthy and off of bedrest. Leading wire-to-wire last year with a comfortable lead was of huge benefit in the playoffs last year and the Sox have a chance to build up a considerable lead right now as other teams are struggling. Stringing together some quality starts could really jump start the club. That being said….lets LOOK AHEAD.
| Red Sox Record: | 15-8 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 10 |
| Record in non-QS games: | 7-6 |
A Look Ahead:
With Lester moving up a day to pitch tonight, the Sox will now need to find a starter for the last game of the 3 game set with the Halos. The Sox will be trying to avoid losing their first series at home in 2008. Granted, this series is only their 4th, but you like to keep the slate clean as long as you can. But who will start?
