SB Nation Boston - Royals 4, Red Sox 3: Defense Decides Series In Royals' Favor As Late Rally Falls Short

Bobby Valentine Pitching Issues: Does The Red Sox Manager Leave Pitchers In Too Long?

2012-05-10T19:53:31Z

Does Bobby Valentine have an issue with keeping pitchers in too long?

Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald joined Gary Tanguay and Mike Felger on Sports Tonight to debate Valentine's decisions.

Though they all agreed to liking when Valentine visits the mound to help his pitchers overcome issues, they think he struggles with knowing when to yank pitchers from the game.

"While I love his mound visits, he keeps his pitchers in too long. He kept Bard in too long last night by at least a batter, he's kept bullpen guys in too long," said Felger. "Bard should never have faced that second batter. When he came in he walked the leadoff man, and that should have been it. Bobby Valentine left him in there for one extra better, that extra better gave him a loss as opposed to a no-decision, and I'm sure Bard, given the mindset of these knuckleheads, probably holds him responsible."

For more of the debate, watch the video below:

For more on the Boston Red Sox, visit Over the Monster.

Red Sox Vs. Royals Final Score: Defense Proves The Difference As Royals Take Rubber Match 4-3

2012-05-10T03:43:15Z

The Red Sox fell to the Royals Wednesday, dropping both the game and the series to Kansas City in a night where defense decided the outcome.

The tone was set from the very beginning of the game, as Jon Lester saw a two-out, nobody on situation fall apart after a walk to Billy Butler and seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield. Still, he appeared to have the frame in hand when he induced a fly ball to center off the bat of Johnny Giavotella, but Marlon Byrd completely misplayed the ball, coming in much too far and having the ball clang off his glove when he was forced to make a leaping attempt, allowing one run to come in. Two more would quickly follow when Cody Ross had the ball pop from his glove and off the wall after a running grab.

The Sox would recover in the third inning when Adrian Gonzalez unloaded the bases with a double, but quickly fell back behind by one when Lester gave up his only earned run of the night. That's when the Royals defense came out to help them win the game, with Alex Gordon robbing Dustin Pedroia of extra bases with a leaping grab against the wall and Alcides Escobar stealing a hit from David Ortiz when he went to the air himself to pull down a line drive up the middle.

Boston threatened again come the ninth, but as before it was the Kansas City defense saving the day, with Alex Gordon sliding to pick a Ryan Sweeney line drive inches from the ground with runners on second and third. With Mike Aviles grounding out softly, the game ended with the Sox behind 4-3.

*****

Middlebrooks Missing: For once, Will Middlebrooks does not play the hero at any point, going 0-for-4 out of the fifth spot. We'll likely see how he reacts to his first struggle at the plate--if you can even call it that--tomorrow against the Indians.

Adrian Gonzalez Keeps It Going: He was just 1-for-4, but with that one hit a solid, clutch double and one of the outs coming on a long fly ball, Gonzalez seems not to have lost whatever he had going for him on Tuesday, when he recorded two very solid hits.

Defensive Replacements: One consequence of the injuries that has really been overlooked so far is the defensive loss the Sox have suffered. While Carl Crawford obviously had his struggles last year, and the switch at third base has unquestionably provided a positive change, having Jacoby Ellsbury at center rather than Marlon Byrd would almost certainly have changed this from a loss to a win.

Red Sox Vs. Royals Live Blog: Inning By Inning Updates For Game 3

2012-05-10T00:45:14Z

The Red Sox and Royals are ready to decide their series with a Wednesday night rubber match, as Jon Lester takes on Bruce Chen in Kauffman Stadium.

We'll keep you up-do-date on all the action as it goes down in Kansas City.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, Final -- Just as defense lost the game for the Red Sox in the first, it won the game for the Royals in the ninth. After Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the inning with a single and a walk, Marlon Byrd bunted them along to second and third, bringing Ryan Sweeney to the plate with a chance to tie the game or even put the Sox ahead. And, for a second there, it looked like he had. After a long at bat, Sweeney lined a ball into left field that seemed for all the world destined for the grass until Alex Gordon made a last-second dive and came up with it, far too shallow for the pinch-running Darnell McDonald to score from third. With Mike Aviles grounding out weakly to second, the game was over.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, End 8th -- The Royals get even closer to scoring off of Clayton Mortensen, but a strong relay from Cody Ross, to Mike Aviles, to Jarrod Saltalamacchia leaves Irving Falu out at the plate by a mile.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, Mid 8th -- David Ortiz is one unlucky man, lining out again as Jarrod Dyson goes into a slide to grab his rocket in center field. Two more quick outs, and the Sox are in need of production from the bottom of the order if they're going to avoid losing a series to the lowly Royals.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, End 7th -- Clayton Mortensen escapes the seventh unharmed after a one-out double. In a season bullpen surprises good and bad, Mortensen has so far been among the best.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, Mid 7th -- A 2-out single from Mike Aviles is wasted as Dustin Pedroia flies out on the first pitch. Frankly, it might have been better to have Aviles just get out, so as to have Pedroia - Ortiz - Gonzalez in the eighth. Then again, he did get out, so maybe not.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, End 6th -- Clayton Mortensen continues to do nothing but record outs. The Royals go 1-2-3 like the Sox before them, as Mortensen does the job of keeping the game within reach.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, Mid 6th -- The Royals don't need quite so impressive a defensive performance in the sixth to retire the side in order. Hopefully this is just a sign that the Sox need the top of their order up, and not that they're shutting down for the night.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, End 5th -- Lester gets a quiet 1-2-3 inning, but with his pitch count high that's likely it for his night. Bad defense in the first cost him what could have been a very nice outing, but he'll still leave with just one earned in five innings of work.

Then again, this is Bobby V. we're talking about. Who can say?

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, Mid 5th -- Bruce Chen dodges some serious bullets in the fifth. Dustin Pedroia takes him all the way to the wall in left, where Alex Gordon has to make a leaping grab to save at least extra bases. David Ortiz follows that up with a line drive up the middle where Alcides Escobar makes his own fancy snag for the second out. Adrian Gonzalez is last up and makes the least impressive contact, but still gets the ball a long ways to left-center before having it find a glove.

That easily could have been a crooked number on the board. Instead, it's a goose egg.

Red Sox 3, Royals 4, End 4th -- The Royals, on the other hand, do not waste their chances. Irving Falu's double comes out of the leadoff spot, but it's the double from Alcides Escobar that spells the difference rather than simply the timing, scoring Falu from third with ease.

Red Sox 3, Royals 3, Mid 4th -- A double from Jarrod Saltalamacchia with one out goes for naught, with Ryan Sweeney striking out trying to check his swing and Mike Aviles grounding out weakly to end the inning after Marlon Byrd gets plunked.

Red Sox 3, Royals 3, End 3rd -- Some difficult sailing for Lester in the third, as he surrenders some decent contact for a couple of line drives. The first leads off the inning, putting Billy Butler on first. The second comes with two outs, but ends in the glove of a sliding Ryan Sweeney, who is about the only trustworthy outfielder on the team right about now.

Actually, Darnell McDonald has been on fire defensively of late, so scratch that.

Red Sox 3, Royals 3, Mid 3rd -- The Royals are doing their best Red Sox impression! Hooray! After Marlon Byrd and Ryan Sweeney, in his first start against a left-handed pitcher this year drop singles into left field, Dustin Pedroia hits a pop-up which has Billy Butler chasing the ball well back of first in foul territory, only to have it drop in well to his left in fair territory, loading the bases with one out.

David Ortiz, unfortunately, looked very much unlike Ortiz in his at bat, not seeing the ball well out of Chen's hand and striking out on a bad pitch up-and-in. Luckily, however, Adrian Gonzalez seems to be all the way back. Even though he wasn't seeing the ball terribly well either, he managed to time his swing perfectly on a 3-2 pitch, hitting a line shot to right field to clear the bases and tie the game.

Red Sox 0, Royals 3, End 2nd -- Chris Getz leads off the inning with a seeing-eye single to left--the second Jon Lester has endured so far today--but the rest of the Royals go down in easy fashion as Lester records his second strikeout and manages to avoid any more defensive mishaps.

Red Sox 0, Royals 3, Mid 2nd -- Bruce Chen records two strikeouts and a swinging bunt on the Red Sox in the second. It bears mentioning that in his career Bruce Chen has not been a very good pitcher, and is very much the sort of junkballer the Sox have been jumping all over of late. Not good.

Red Sox 0, Royals 3, End 1st -- What a disaster of an inning for the Red Sox. After Lester quickly records two outs, including a strikeout of Alex Gordon, Billy Butler manages to work a long at bat and draw a walk to keep the inning going. Jeff Francoeur takes advantage by placing a ground ball perfectly through the left side of the infield, but Lester still seems to be out of it when a fliner heads straight for Marlon Byrd in center.

Except Marlon Byrd, as he has been wont to do of late, makes an absolutely terrible read, comes in a few feet, has to jump to try and catch the ball, and instead has it clang off his glove, allowing Butler to score. The next batter, Brayan Pena, sends a long fly ball to left field, where Cody Ross seems to have run it down, right up until the ball pops up and out of his glove as he swings his arm forward. Ross still manages to corral it, but only after it's bounced off the wall, turning another third out into a double, and costing the Sox another pair of runs.

This is where the idea of curses comes from.

Red Sox 0, Royals 0, Mid 1st -- A good start for the Sox quickly goes by the wayside, as Mike Aviles' leadoff single is wasted by a couple of weak fly balls from Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez, and a strike out from David Ortiz. That's a good start for Bruce Chen, who hasn't been pitching all that well this year.

Red Sox Vs. Royals: Will Middlebrooks Bats Fifth Against Bruce Chen

2012-05-09T22:30:21Z

The Red Sox and Royals will face off in the rubber game of their series Wednesday night as Will Middlebrooks returns to the lineup against Bruce Chen. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m. EST, with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.

Middlebrooks returns to the lineup just one night after being pulled in the early stages of Tuesday's game with hamstring tightness. It's the same injury that kept him out of an earlier game, but it seems to be minor enough that the team is willing to run him back out there with trust enough to bat him fifth. Through five games this season, Middlebrooks is hitting an astonishing .405/.435/1.000, with at least one extra base hit in each game.

The Sox will turn to Jon Lester on the mound. Last time out, Lester struggled to hold leads but managed to keep the Sox in it with a quality start before they eventually fell in the 13th inning.

Boston Red Sox (12-17)

Mike Aviles, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Cody Ross, LF
Jarrod Saltlamacchia, C
Marlon Byrd, CF
Ryan Sweeney, RF

Kansas City Royals (10-19)

Jarrod Dyson, CF
Alex Gordon, LF
Billy Butler, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Johnny Giavotella, DH
Brayan Pena, C
Irving Falu, 3B
Chris Getz, 2B
Alcides Escobar, SS

Next Game

Boston Red Sox
@ Kansas City Royals

Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 8:10 PM EDT
Kauffman Stadium

Jon Lester vs Bruce Chen

Clear. Winds blowing in from center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65.

Complete Coverage >

Red Sox Vs. Royals Final Score: Billy Butler's Eighth Inning Homer Sends Sox To 6-4 Defeat

2012-05-09T03:51:04Z

The Red Sox fell to the Royals 6-4 Tuesday night, leaving their winning streak over at all of one game.

The Sox took an early 2-0 lead in the second, with Will Middlebrooks doubling down the right field line to start the rally. Singles from Marlon Byrd and Kelly Shoppach would score Middlebrooks before walks from Mike Aviles and Dustin Pedroia pushed across another run.

Daniel Bard would have a mostly successful night, but ran into serious difficulties in the bottom half of the second that hurt his final line quite a bit. After a single and a walk put two on with zero outs, Bard offered up two balks to score one runner and move the other to third. Another single tied the game, and a terribly wild pitch sailed very high and behind the batter, moving the runner to second and allowing him to score on a fourth single.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Will Middlebrooks had to leave the game after the top of the second, having aggravated his hamstring running out his double. This would cost the Sox as, after Cody Ross and Adrian Gonzalez walked to start the third, Nick Punto grounded into a double play killing a promising rally prematurely. While Boston would manage to tie the game in the fourth and then take the lead in the fifth, it would prove a costly waste.

That's because, with Bard tiring in the eighth, the Royals started the inning with two quick walks. Bobby Valentine elected to turn to Matt Albers, who had been doing his usual thing, which is to say pretending to be good so he can revert to his career form at the worst possible moment. Albers, meet worst possible moment. On his third pitch to Billy Butler, Albers left a fat fastball middle-middle. Butler took full advantage, launching a loud homer to left to give the Royals the 6-4 lead--one they did not surrender in the ninth, sending the Sox back into the loss column.

*****

Adrian's Back: He didn't go deep, but Adrian Gonzalez showed some very positive signs of life, reaching base three times with a walk, a loud double to center, and a line drive single up the middle on a very nice swing. It's what the first baseman has really needed: strong contact that suggests he's back to his old ways once and for all. He looked like Adrian.

The Other Bard: The Daniel Bard we're most familiar with is a strikeout machine, throwing heat and using a strong slider to get swings and misses. Tonight was a different Bard who we've seen on a couple of occasions this year. Not fully comfortable in his slider, he instead used fastballs--mixing two-seamers with four--to induce ground balls and weak contact. But for the second and eighth, he would have left with a very impressive performance.

Missing Middlebrooks: Looking back at that third inning is a pretty big "what if" moment for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, we'll never know how different the game would have been had had Middlebrooks stayed in. For now, they just have to hope he's back tomorrow--he seemed to have been lifted largely as a precaution.

Will Middlebrooks Injury: Red Sox 3B Leaves Game With Hamstring Tightness In 2nd Inning

2012-05-09T02:02:47Z

Will Middlebrooks left Tuesday night's game between the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals with hamstring tightness, WEEI reports. Nick Punto has entered the game to replace Middlebrooks at third base.

Middlebrooks appeared slow rounding third base from second off of a Marlon Byrd single to right field. Cramping in his hamstring kept him out of Saturday's game as well. Middlebrooks reached base on a double down the right field line with one out before leaving.

As Gethin Coolbaugh pointed out, Middlebrooks has been one of the Red Sox biggest bright spots this season. The youngster upped his average to .409 on the season with the double. Middlebrooks has seven extra-base hits in five major league games played.

The Red Sox currently lead 4-3 at the top of the sixth inning. They are looking to record their 13th win of the season.

For additional Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over The Monster.

Red Sox Vs. Royals Live Blog: Inning By Inning Updates For Game Two

2012-05-09T00:29:38Z

The Red Sox are after a second straight win Tuesday night as they take on the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium.

After taking a high-scoring shootout from the Royals on Monday, the Sox will have to deal with a more difficult opponent in Danny Duffy tonight. We'll keep you up-to-date with all the action as it goes down out west.

Red Sox 4, Royals 6, Final -- 1-2-3 go the Sox, and just like that a win becomes a loss.

Red Sox 4, Royals 6, End 8th -- Oh it was bound to happen. Daniel Bard couldn't keep it together in the eighth, walking the first two batters of the inning, and is pulled for Matt Albers. While Albers has been good for the Sox of late, observant fans with long memories will remember that he is, in fact, a terrible pitcher. This explains why his third pitch was middle-middle to Billy Butler, and why the Red Sox are now losing this game after a three-run shot.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, Mid 8th -- Marlon Byrd provides the Sox a baserunner--a rare even since Danny Duffy left the game--but then gets picked off as the inning effectively goes 1-2-3.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, End 7th -- Daniel Bard experiences some difficulty in the seventh, giving up a pair of leadoff singles to land himself in trouble early. But a sacrifice bunt gifts him a first out, Adrian Gonzalez catches a runner at home to keep the tying run out, and the Sox escape with Bard's first strikeout of the night. Quite the solid escape.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, Mid 7th -- The Red Sox don't score, but Adrian Gonzalez definitely has his swing back, putting a fastball on a line to center field and looking smooth doing it. One week ago and he swings through that or pops it up.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, End 6th -- Billy Butler gets on base by way of a ground ball single through the right side of the infield, but Daniel Bard's ground balls once again save him from any major trouble, with a double play ball ending the inning.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, Mid 6th -- Kelvin Herrera has once again settled things down after the departure of the KC starter. After getting Kelly Shoppach to swing through what may have been a 90 MPH changeup, Herrera gets some easy outs on Aviles and Pedroia to end the sixth in a hurry.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, End 5th -- A leadoff walk breaks up a streak of six straight retired for Daniel Bard, but the next three batters all create weak contact, leaving the Royals stuck at three runs as the game heads to the sixth.

Red Sox 4, Royals 3, Mid 5th -- The Sox take the lead thanks to the reappearance of one Adrian Gonzalez with a loud double to right-center that has just about every Red Sox fan feeling a good deal of relief. After a Nick Punto walk (miracle of miracles), the Royals have a chance to turn an inning-ending double play, but Chris Getz throws the ball away allowing Adrian to score the go-ahead run from second.

Red Sox 3, Royals 3, End 4th -- Daniel Bard's run of form continues, needing just a few more pitches than in the third to record three ground ball outs.

Red Sox 3, Royals 3, Mid 4th -- Some two-out production helps the Sox to tie the game up. Mike Aviles starts the mini-rally off by launching a fly ball over the head of Alex Gordon and to the wall for a double. Dustin Pedroia works a long at bat, fighting off a few two-strike pitches before finally catching one and cueing it into center field for the RBI.

Red Sox 2, Royals 3, End 3rd -- No sign of the shaky bard in the third, as he brushes the terrible second inning off and retires the heart of the Royals lineup 1-2-3 on just five pitches with no hard contact.

Red Sox 2, Royals 3, Mid 3rd -- Nick Punto is just absolutely brutal at the plate. After walks to Cody Ross and Adrian Gonzalez, Punto gets ahead 2-1...and then promptly grounds into a weak double play, effectively ending the rally before Darnell McDonald finishes off the inning with a pop out.

Nick Punto is the rally killer.

Red Sox 2, Royals 3, End 2nd -- Bard comes absolutely unraveled in a disaster of a third inning, even with "just" three runs surrendered. While the leadoff single and walk were bad enough, Bard compounded his problems by offering up not one, but two balks within minutes of eachother. The first came when he failed to step fully to third before firing to first, and the second when he was distracted by the runner he just sent to second with his balk.

Another single up the middle proved enough to score the runner from second, and after a tremendously wild pitch well above the a third

Red Sox 2, Royals 0, Mid 2nd -- The Sox grab a pair of runs off of Danny Duffy in the second, and it is of course Will Middlebrooks leading the charge, working the count full and then shooting a bullet along the ground down the foul line in right for a double. A Marlon Byrd single leaves runners on the corners, and Kelly Shoppach brings Middlebrooks in for the first run of the game with a flare out to center.

Mike Aviles would walk to load the bases, and Dustin Pedroia would work the count full before drawing his own free pass to bring another run in before David Ortiz finally flies out to end a long inning.

The bad news, however, is that Will Middlebrooks is out of the game after pulling up wincing at second. Bad, bad news for the Sox.

Red Sox 0, Royals 0, Mid 1st -- It's hardly the four run first that they had against Jonathan Sanchez on Monday. After Duffy managed to keep the ball on the ground against Mike Aviles and Dustin Pedroia for the first two outs, David Ortiz pulled ahead in the count 3-0, took a strike, and then pulled a fastball to the wall in right for a double. Duffy buckled down against Cody Ross, however, striking out the outfielder on four pitches to end the frame.

Red Sox 0, Royals 0, End 1st -- Daniel Bard enjoys a 1-2-3 first, getting a couple quick ground balls and inducing a lazy fly ball from Billy Butler to left to send the game to the top of the second in a scoreless tie.

Red Sox Vs. Royals Lineups: Red Sox Look For Two Straight Against Danny Duffy

2012-05-08T22:11:39Z

The Red Sox are after a second straight win Tuesday as they send Daniel Bard to the mound against Danny Duffy and the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. EST with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.

After scoring 11 runs on Monday against Jonathan Sanchez and the Royals bullpen, Bobby Valentine will stick with the same lineup against lefty Danny Duffy. Duffy is off to a great start in his first full year in the majors. Through four games he holds a 3.57 ERA, striking out more than a batter per inning. While he's also had some difficulty keeping the ball in the zone, his swing-and-miss stuff has been proven more than enough to make up for it.

Boston Red Sox (12-16)

Mike Aviles, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Cody Ross, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Darnell McDonald, LF
Marlon Byrd, CF
Kelly Shoppach, C

Kansas City Royals (9-19)

Jarrod Dyson, CF
Alex Gordon, LF
Billy Butler, DH
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Mike Moustakas, 3B
Chris Getz, 2B
Alcides Escobar, SS
Humberto Quintero, C

Next Game

Boston Red Sox
@ Kansas City Royals

Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 8:10 PM EDT
Kauffman Stadium

Daniel Bard vs Danny Duffy

Mostly clear. Winds blowing in from left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 70.

Complete Coverage >