Red Sox 1, Tigers 2: Sox Bats Get Taken to Skubal

Well, Nick Pivetta did his job. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, he’s not as good at his job as Tarik Skubal.

Skubal, on the way to the American League Cy Young Award, K’d eight Red Sox hitters tonight, becoming the first pitcher in baseball to reach the 200-strikeout mark. And he doesn’t just lead the league in strikeouts, either, but in wins and ERA, too. That’s called the pitching triple crown, and while it’s not nearly as cool as the actual triple crown, it’s still pretty damn hard to do. Tarik Skubal is good, is what I’m saying.

In light of the fact that Tarik Skubal is good, the Sox had to play close to perfect baseball to win tonight’s game. They didn’t. With two men on in the bottom of the second, Rob Refsnyder misplayed a catchable ball into a double. One run scored on the misplay, and then a second run scored on the relay, which Ceddanne Rafaela took a wee bit too nonchalantly, not realizing that Tigers third base coach Joey Cora aggressively sent the second runner home. I have three sons, so I’m extremely familiar with brothers being jerks to each other, but I assumed that stuff would stop by the time they reached their late 50s. For shame, elder Cora.

Anyway, we can take some consolation from the fact that both the Royals and Twins lost, so the Sox remain 3.5 games back from the third and final Wild Card. Let’s all take a moment to thank Rob Manfred for creating a postseason system that somehow rewards a team that’s gone 13-15 in August.

Three Studs

Nick Pivetta: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 ER

If Pivetta is entering one of his semi-regular (but not regular enough)stretches of All Star-caliber pitching, he’s picked a really good time do so.

Tyler O’Neil: 1-3, HR, 2 K

The Toronto Blue Jays

Not only did they beat the Twins, they humiliated them 15-0. Perhaps every single member of the Twins will lose their passion for baseball and go home to their parents tonight.