Three Pitches

Over the course of three pitches across two games, Jake Burger hit two homers that accounted for six runs. The walk-off grand slam beat Detroit on Sunday while the two-run drive started the scoring in a 6-5 win over the Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader yesterday. Manager Pedro Grifol spoke some gibber about matchups determining lineups. But if that were the case, Yoan Moncada would be playing a lot less. Moncada is hitting .202 with nine RBIs over his last thirty games vs. Burger’s .283 with twenty-one RBIs. Back to you, Skip. Neither Burger nor Moncada did anything in the second game, with the Sox losing 3-0. It’s too bad Grifol didn’t flipflop his starters. If you’re going to lose a game, may as well let Lance Lynn do the honors. Lynn gave up five runs on eight hits over five innings; five of the hits went for extra bases. Something’s not right here. Mike Clevinger looked like a legitimate starter while taking the loss, Lynn a definite liability on the mound in a no-decision. The above plus the Sox just 3-1/2 games behind the Twins. Strange times, indeed.