“4” is the number of death in Chinese superstition. And two really awful 4-run innings - the 5th and the 8th - killed the Sox today. Ugh. The 5th was pretty awful to watch. Isn’t Embree’s forte supposed to be stranding inherited runners?
Not a good day to own both Matt Clement and Keith Foulke in fantasy leagues. Amazingly, according to the AP report, this was Foulke’s first blown save this season, but it’s not like he was pitching that great even before. Still, despite the pun of this post’s title, I’m pretty sure Foulke will turn things around.
Good quote from Tito after the game though:
“Believe me, I wanted [Clement] to stay in,” Francona said. “I was dying for him to stay out there and get five innings. I think if you start managing with your heart more than your head, you get in trouble.” (Link)
I always thought it was a strange rule that starters must go 5 to pick up the win, while relievers can basically vulture a win for even a third of an inning of work. But those are just scoring rules, and I’m glad Francona would rather play to get the team the win than try to give the starter the win stat.