Are you surprised the Indians eliminated the Red Sox in their best-of-five American League Division Series? I’m not. Swept? Yes. Eliminated? No, and here’s why.
After that stirring 11-game winning streak September 15-25, the Red Sox lost eight of their next nine games, five of six at the end of the regular season. They dropped three in New York two of three at home during David Ortiz Weekend and then two in Cleveland in the ALDS and the 4-3 finale Monday night at Fenway Park.
The Sox were only 5-5 in their last 10 regular-season games and secured the A.L. East title on Sept. 28 not by beating the Yankees but thanks to Baltimore’s 3-2 victory over Toronto. Of the other American League playoff teams, Texas went 5-5 in its last 10 before the playoffs. Who else got swept? Texas, by Toronto.
Boston failed in every phase of the game against Cleveland. Rick Porcello, 22-4 and a worthy Cy Young Award candidate, delivered three home run pitches in the same inning and lost the first game. David Price, 17-9, continued his roller-coaster season in the second game, allowed four runs in the second inning after striking out the side in the first, and was gone in the fourth. That put the season on the shoulders of Clay Buchholz, 8-10, who sat in the rollercoaster right behind Price this year. We know how that turned out. Four innings and a 2-0 deficit.
Red Sox bats were no match for Cleveland pitching. Dustin Pedroia, 2 for 12, 5 strikeouts. MVP candidate Mookie Betts 2 for 10. Xander Bogaerts, 3 for 12, 4 Ks. Jackie Bradley, Jr., 1 for 10, 7 Ks. Sandy Leon, 1 for 10, 5 Ks. Even Big Papi struggled, 1 for 9, 1 RBI. The Sox looked like minor leaguers in Game 2 with their check-swing strikes and their chasing pitches in the dirt or at their shoulders. No wonder they managed only three hits.
Only Brock Holt, 4 for 10, and Andrew Benintendi, 3 for 9, hit well, each with a home run. Hanley Ramirez was 3 for 12 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI, but he struck out four times.
And Red Sox gloves didn’t help the cause in this series. In Game 2, Holt misplayed a potential double-play grounder, a contributing factor to the Indians’ four-run second inning that doomed Price. Pedroia committed a fielding error in the sixth, which led to the Indians final run in their 6-0 triumph.
In the end, the Red Sox slumped while the Indians soared. It was that simple.
