The Sox win a laugher against the Cubbies
Pablo Reyes on the mound generally isn’t something you want to see. I mean, sure, it’s perversely fun seeing our tiny, walk-off grand slam hitting utility infielder throwing looping, 70 MPH curveballs up there. But when we saw it last year, it generally meant bad news. He made two appearances on the bump in 2023, and the Red Sox lost those games by a combined score of 23-2.
But against the Cubs on Saturday, we finally got to party with Pablo. A six-run fifth inning by the Red Sox turned this game into a blowout. But the bats just kept hitting, plating eight more runs in the seventh and eighth innings. By the time the ninth rolled around, the blowout had transitioned to a laugher and Reyes was called on to give the bullpen a a respite. A bullpen game that was actually enjoyable? How novel!
Three Studs
Ceddanne Rafaela: 4-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, SB, 7 RBI
Was this Ceddanne’s laser show game? Not only did he go 4-4 with a homer, but he actually registered a hard hit ball in all five of his plate appearances, with one of them accounting for a run-scoring sac fly. Improving his plate discipline is likely going to be a multi-season struggle, but this is what he’s capable of.
Masataka Yoshida: 4-5, 3 R, 2B, 1 RBI
Another big game from another recently maligned player. Yoshida’s usage has been downright strange. He’s a bad outfielder — everyone acknowledges that — but is really so bad that it makes sense to prioritize Bobby Dalbec and Tyler Heineman over him, as has been happening over the past week or so?
Tyler O’Neill: 3-5, 3 R, HR, 2B, BB, K, 2 RBI
More like Tyler WOAH’Neill, am I right?
One Dud
Connor Wong: 0-4
Just brutal, being the only starter not to notch a hit in this one.
Play of the Game
Let’s be liberal in our interpretation of the word “play” and just celebrate Ceddanne’s whole day.