– Chris Sale didn’t have his best stuff today, giving up 10 hits. However, he didn’t walk anybody, and when your pitcher gives up no free passes, he’s going to keep you in the game no matter how good or bad his stuff is. It’s rare that a guy as young as Sale can learn how to get by with sub-par stuff like he did today.
– It was nice to see Addison Reed bounce back after blowing the save the other night. Alexei Ramirez did a nice job defensively in the ninth inning as he did throughout the game.
– Looks like Adam Dunn seems to be a bit more locked in right now. Maybe not playing in the All-Star game gave him some sort of extra motivation. Whatever the case may be, it’s working!
Adam Dunn hit yet another first inning home run today (photo via AP).
– Alex Rios has been on fire the past month and a half, and it seems like no one realizes it around baseball. I was skeptical about the decision to move Rios to right field because I thought it was more important to make sure Viciedo was comfortable, not Rios. However, the decision has proved to be the correct one, as Rios is having probably his best season of his career, even better than his 2010 campaign.
– There was some bad news today, though, as we found out Gavin Floyd is having some soreness and has to miss his next outing. It sounds like the Sox are optimistic about the situation, as Robin said he doesn’t think it will require a DL stint. Hopefully that’s the case, as there is enough inexperienced pitchers on this team already.
With Floyd on the shelf, Dylan Axelrod will face the Boston Red Sox tomorrow. Axelrod threw two innings on Friday night, so in a way, he’s once again throwing on short rest. I’m hoping for five solid innings from him. The story of the night, however, will be Kevin Youkilis making his return to Bean Town. Let’s hope the “right” Sox take care of business and help Youk give Bobby Valentine some payback.
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Posted by Luke Stanczyk, “GSB!” Editor