So close. Maybe next year someone will go 162-0. This year however, the Baltimore Orioles were the last undefeated team before losing on Thursday to the Boston Red Sox and moving their record to 8-1.
Joe Kelly Jr. was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and willed himself through five innings of two run baseball, which was good enough for his first win of the season. His command clearly wasn’t there for most of the game, but when he got into a rhythm he threw some completely impossible to hit pitches. That being said, he did get some help from his defense.
Here is a look at that earlier play with Pedroia. Talk about getting yourself into position to make a play. pic.twitter.com/RcIl7gmGKc
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) April 14, 2016
I truly believe that if Kelly can get into a groove, he could be a big part of the Red Sox rotation. The Boston bullpen was phenomenal. Matt Barnes, Tommy Layne, Junichi Tazawa, and Koji Uehara are had scoreless outings to lead up to Craig Kimbrel, who struck out the side in order to close out the ninth inning.
Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts continue to fix their early problems, both going 2-for-4. Betts stole one base and Bogaerts stole two. Jackie Bradley Jr. had a huge one-run triple, and his bat seems to be coming around as well. Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw both played superb defense, proving that they fit well in their new positions.
One of the most important things to notice is Dustin Pedroia however. Pedroia’s defense is still elite level, and he looks healthy. When was the last time you could say that? Pedroia seems to be completely healthy. That’s great news for the Red Sox, bad news for the rest of the league.
Ortiz’s farewell tour continued with an 0-for-2 game, he did however draw two walks. The walks raised his on-base percentage to .406, and he’s shown absolutely no signs of slowing down this year.
Kobe Bryant played his final game in the NBA on Thursday night, and did something only Bryant could do, drop 60 points and the game-winner in the finale. The most by any player in the last game of their career. He’s also part of the hardest video of all-time in my opinion.
The best way to commemorate #MambaDay is by retweeting this…https://t.co/mtoYPbflWj — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 14, 2016
Any human would flinch, not 24 though.
Ortiz has some of that same flare for the dramatics that Bryant does. No player 40-years of age or older has hit 40 home runs in a season. What are the odds Big Papi changes that? Only time will tell. I can promise you this, Ortiz won’t leave the game without leaving one more mark. For now, I’m sure he’s just content with the Red Sox getting back in the win column.
Quick note, Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo has been sent down to the minors, I will dive into this deeper when I find out who is being called up, smart money is on catcher Christian Vazquez though.
Hunter Noll is a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. Follow him on Twitter
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