All in a day’s work
If you were a part of the majority of Boston sports fans tuned into the Bruins tonight, don’t worry, you didn’t miss a ton. Cooper Criswell turned in a five-inning shutout performance, the offense scored a few early runs, and the bullpen held onto the lead. I could leave it at that, but that’s not the level of effort that gets me the big (read: modest) bucks.
What stood out to me tonight was the offensive approach. While Logan Webb doesn’t have overpowering stuff, he’s still a very uncomfortable at-bat for most hitters. He pounds the strike zone, keeps the ball down, and makes you get yourself out. Tonight, he didn’t have his usual command of his changeup, and the Red Sox made him pay for it. They took pitches outside the zone, didn’t try to do too much, and kept the line moving to score a run in each of the first four innings. That was all it took as the pitching did the rest, and the Red Sox took the opening game of the series.
Three Studs
Cooper Criswell (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
Cooper Criswell was about as good as I believed he could be in his last outing. Location is important for all pitchers, but good stuff can make up for suboptimal command. Criswell tops out at about 90 MPH so he needs to be nearly perfect to get by. In each of his last two outings, he’s done just that. He kept his sinkers and changeups arm side, while his sweepers and cutters stayed arm side. As long as he does that, he’ll be able to limit hard contact and eat up some innings. It won’t be this pretty every outing, but when it is, it’s very fun to watch.
Greg Weissert (1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K)
How about a hand for Greg Weissert? He’s had a couple of blowups in his short Red Sox career, but tonight was the exact opposite. After coming in and making quick work of Wilmer Flores to end the sixth, he came back for the seventh and struck out the Giants’ 3/4/5 hitters. Nice work, Greg.
Wilyer Abreu (3-4, 2B, 3B, BB, RBI)
Wilyer Abreu rocks. After a rough first ten games or so, he’s turned things around in a major way, increasing his OPS to 0.917 tonight. All the guy does is hit. Except for when he’s in the field, and he’s great at that as well.
Two Duds
Ceddane Rafaela (0-4, 2 K, Error)
It wasn’t the best day for Rafaela, as he struck out twice in four at-bats. Get ‘em tomorrow.
Sean Hjelle
Sean Hjelle finds himself in the dud category for one pitch and one pitch alone. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he hit Garrett Cooper in the hand with a sinker. Not only did this force Cooper out of the game, but it also forced Bobby Dalbec into it, effectively ending his five-game hitting streak. With a full game of at-bats, I’m confident Dalbec would have tallied at least one base hit today, tomorrow, and every day until he broke Joe Dimaggio’s record. Shame on you for standing in the way of history, Sean.
Play of the Game
I can’t think of a particularly spectacular play tonight from the Red Sox, so I’ll turn to the Giants’ defense. In the eighth inning, Tyler O’Neill hit a groundball to third base, starting a near triple play. O’Neill was called out on the field but was ruled safe on review. While the books will show this as a double play, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to seeing a triple play in person, and it was well executed by the Giants, so it takes home the award tonight. Sorry for the poor-quality video, it’s the best I could find.
Triple Play!!!!! #sfgiants #mlb pic.twitter.com/QwcZyUvr1X
— Bay Area Super fans (@ScumbagPolite) May 1, 2024