Catch Of The Year By Andrew Benintendi Protects Shutout For David Price, Who Continues To Turn Season Around

Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays

That was the catch of the year for the Red Sox.

Plain and simple, it was the catch of the year, because nobody on this Red Sox team has made a better one. But beyond it just being an impressive catch in general, it transcended that, because of what it meant for both David Price and the Red Sox. Andrew Benintendi brought back what would’ve been a two-run home run in a 3-0 game in the bottom of the 8th inning. Sure, the Red Sox went on to score three runs in the ninth, but who knows what the Rays would’ve done with that extra out in a one-run game? We don’t know. In addition to that, a two-run homer in the 8th would’ve significantly lessened how good Red Sox fans felt about Price’s outing last night.

Also, it’s worth noting that Price has a 0.84 ERA in the 6th inning this year, a 0.55 ERA in the 7th inning, but then it skyrockets up to 6.75 in the 8th inning. If that ball goes over the fence, then we’re talking about a completely different outing for Price, and going back to the narrative that he gives up crucial homers in the 8th inning. Had that ball been a home run, it would’ve been the fourth home run he’s allowed in the 8th inning this year, which would’ve been the second most home runs he’s allowed in any inning.

He’s given up 5 home runs each in the first and fourth innings in 2016. However, you can’t look at it that way. In the first inning, he’s allowing a home run once every 21.4 at-bats, and in the fourth inning, he’s allowing a home run once every 21.8 at-bats. Had Benintendi not caught that ball last night, Price would be allowing a home run once every 9.75 at-bats in the 8th inning this year. Yeah, that’s not good. But, Benintendi did catch it, so all of this information is somewhat useless, albeit being interesting to think about in a “what if” scenario.

Here’s something that actually did happen that we can talk about. Price threw 8 shutout innings against the Rays, allowing just two hits. He’s lowered his ERA to 4.00 exactly on the season, the lowest it’s been since it was 3.00 after his first start on Opening Day in Cleveland. Since May 12, Price has made 20 starts, and he has a 3.17 ERA with 126 strikeouts in 136.1 innings and a 1.18 WHIP. His 3.17 ERA over that span is the 8th best in the American League, and the lowest ERA among all Red Sox starters. You’d never be able to tell, though, because he can’t handle Boston, he sucks, the contract’s a bust, and blah, blah, blah. Shut up. You were wrong.

A shitty first seven starts of the season (6.75 ERA) inflated what has largely been a pretty good year for Price since then. But don’t let the numbers get in the way of a good story! Of course, the Price haters will now either shift their focus to, “Let’s see what he does in October,” or “Ya, if you take out the bad starts, it’s a good season.” Nah, it’s not cherrypicking only his good starts. Within those first seven starts of the year in which he had a 6.75 ERA, he had three outings where he averaged seven innings per start, and allowed two earned runs or less. His stinkers were just that bad. His resurgence, or his last 20 starts, account for 74% of his entire season. We’re not dealing with a “nice little run” anymore.

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Also, this happened last night. Made me really happy. Here are some updated numbers for you — since Sandy Leon was called up on June 7, minimum 160 plate appearances, he ranks third in the majors in batting average (.383), sixth in on-base percentage (.436), fifth in slugging (.638), and third in OPS (1.074). And now he’s being intentionally walked like an absolute savage. Love to see it. You know what else I love to see? That Xander Bogaerts home run in the ninth inning. Like I said before, I don’t need Bogaerts to start ripping home runs left and right like Mookie Betts has been doing, but I need to see more than just a few singles here, and a few singles there. That home run for Bogaerts was his first since July 31, and only his second extra-base hit this month.

Final score: Red Sox 6, Rays 2