Well, the excitement of yesterday has already worn off less than 24 hours later (especially for me, who drove to Fayetteville, Arkansas just to watch Kansas baseball go 0-2 in its first regional since 2014). While yesterday’s game subverted our expectations, gave us some amazing highlights, and just brought relative joy to our lives, this game ripped it all away in true 2025 Red Sox fashion.
I foolishly allowed myself some hope after Walker Buehler allowed a pair of singles to start the game, but then forced Marcell Ozuna to ground into a double play. I thought this was some good news for Boston, but instead, the real Red Sox showed themselves, as Matt Olson hit a deep double on the second pitch of the at-bat to plate Atlanta’s first run of the night.
From then on, I pretty much realized what kind of game we were going to get. And the 1-2-3 inning in the second for Boston, followed by a steal for Michael Harris, really cemented it all. Buehler would go on to pitch 5.2 innings, and he definitely didn’t have his best stuff, as the Braves collected 10 hits (two home runs) against him to force his exit in the sixth. Buehler gave up both of these home runs in the same inning (the fourth), as Austin Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr. both went deep to get the Braves out to a 5-0 lead.
And that was all she wrote, as the Red Sox collected two more singles in the fifth, just as they did in the fourth, and wouldn’t reach base again until a Mayer single in the seventh for the last hit of the game. Atlanta’s starter had Boston’s number, as Spencer Schwellenbach threw 6.1 innings, allowing only five hits and no walks while striking out 11.
Three Studs
Brennan Bernardino
Literally no one on Boston’s offense had a positive win probability added across the game. Brennan Bernardino, who is pitching in like his 60th game of the season at this point, led the Sox with a .005 WPA with his one single out recorded. So shoutout to him, I guess, for being durable and expendable at this moment.
Spencer Schewllenbach
There is no other Red Sox deserving of this. But I’ll give a shoutout to Schwellanbach, who had one of his best starts of the season in the middle game of a three-part series, racking up 11 Ks over 19 outs and allowing no earned runs or even any extra base hits. The Atlanta bullpen held up its end of the bargain, too, giving up no hits in the last four innings of the game.
Ronald Acuña Jr.
Ever since Rob Manfred made Nick Pivetta throw a 93 mph fastball straight down the heart of the plate in Acuña’s first at-bat in nearly a year, he’s been on a tear. And his reintroduction and invigoration within the league hit a perfect peak just in time for Boston to come to town.
Three duds
Walker Buehler
Buehler just didn’t have it again. And that would be okay if he weren’t currently slated as a No.2 or 3 guy on this team — but he is, and his inconsistency isn’t doing the Red Sox any favors.
Rafael Devers
Not too much grief to him considering he’s one of the hottest hitters on the planet right now, but Saturday’s contest was not a pretty one for Devers. He went hitless across four at-bats with two strikeouts.
Jarren Duran
Duran, I will give some grief to, simply because I thought we were back on good terms again. But he also went 0-for-4, to leave Boston’s leadoff and two-hole hitters hitless in eight at-bats.