The Boston Red Sox got their post season started in a big way as they destroyed the Tampa Bay Rays 12-2 in Fenway Park yesterday. They went 15-9 leading in September and are 38-26 since the All Star break. They won despite not hitting a single home run but hit 5 doubles and had all 9 players in their starting lineup get a hit. Ryan Dempster pitched 7 2/3 strong innings and striking out 7 but walked 3.
The Red Sox hit 178 home runs last season which ranked 6th in the MLB behind the big boppers of Baltimore, Seattle, Oakland, Toronto, and Atlanta. Three of those 6 teams didn't even make the postseason and 2 of them failed to even reach .500. The Red Sox also led the lead in doubles with 363 doubles, 41 more than 2nd-place St Louis. They led in OPS with 117 and in OPS with .795. They were the only team in baseball to score 800 runs (853). They were clearly the top offensive team in baseball and that can go a long way if you have good pitching. Their top hitters were David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia
Their pitching staff had a 3.78 ERA on the season which was 14th in baseball. 7th in strikeouts, 15th in WHIP. Obviously the pitching was not nearly as good as the hitting but it got the job done to lead the Red Sox into the playoffs.Clay Buchholz who went 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA but in only 16 starts. He punched out 98 in 108.1 innings pitched. Shutting the door for the Red Sox in the ninth was Koji Uehara who was absolute money out of the pen with a 1.09 ERA in 73 relief appearances and 21 saves.
Overall the Red Sox are one of the best teams in baseball and their run to a potential World Series ring could be very entertaining.
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