A Total Waste

I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon playing trucks with my grandson, which kept me from seeing much of Lance Lynn’s start against the Mariners. But I do know how to read a box score, which shows that Lynn struck out sixteen before being lifted with one on and nobody out in the eighth inning of a 2-1 game. It was imperative not to waste Lynn’s effort and to keep Seattle from adding an insurance run. Mission failed. For reasons best known to himself, manager Pedro Grifol brought in Reynaldo Lopez, who did not disappoint, the Mariners, that is. Lopez issued two two-out walks to bring up the left-handed hitting Jarred Kelenic, the Mariners’ version of Luis Robert Jr. (another two strikeouts there, but I digress). Math wasn’t my major in college, but I can count three lefties in the Sox bullpen. And not one of them faced Kelenic, who sat on a 1-0 fastball from Lopez for a bases-clearing triple. After the game, Grifol was gushing over Lynn, who tied the franchise record for strikeouts in a game. Not a word on Lopez, though, who looked detached to the point of bored. If only that were a onetime thing. But, hey, the Sox are working on draft position for 2024, and with Rick Hahn in charge of things, you never know. Second coming of Carson Fulmer or Zack Collins, anyone?