Dirty Water is getting to be a misnomer for both teams' nearby rivers and wetlands, as the old sewers that flowed during rainstorms get dumped into storage and treatment. Both rivers have hosted swims. Real success stories despite the legends.
Dirty Water of course is tied to Boston (by an LA band, the Standells) and Fenway's playlist after victories. Will we be forced to listen to it this weekend as the Nats finish their 10 day pass of honorary membership in the AL East?
The pitching matchups
Game 1
- Patrick Corbin: LHP, 0-3, 37.2 IP, 6.45 ERA / 4.41 FIP, 14.4 K%, 8.6 BB%, .377 BABIP, 0.96 HR/9, 60.9 LOB%
- Tanner Houck: RHP, 3-3, 45.1 IP, 1.99 ERA / 2.08 FIP, 25.4 K%, 3.9 BB%, .290 BABIP, 0.20 HR/9, 72.4 LOB%
Game 2
- Jake Irvin: RHP, 2-3, 38.2 IP, 3.72 ERA / 3.24 FIP, 19.0 K%, 4.1 BB%, .299 BABIP, 0.70 HR/9, 62.2 LOB%,
- Cooper Criswell: RHP, 2-1, 20.2 IP, 1.74 ERA / 3.60 FIP, 19.5 K%, 4.9 BB%, .271 BABIP, 0.87 HR/9, 79.2 LOB%,
Game 3
- MacKenzie Gore: LHP, 2-3, 34 IP, 3.44 ERA / 3.07 FIP, 29.2 K%, 7.4 BB%, .400 BABIP, 0.79 HR/9, 1.06 GB/FB
- Brayan Bello: RHP, 3-1, 26.2 IP, 3.04 ERA / 4.06 FIP, 23.6 K%, 6.4 BB%, .236 BABIP, 1.34 HR/9, 1.86 GB/FB
About the most that can be said about Game 1 is that at least the Nats aren't burning one of their better starters head to head with somebody having an all-star season. Crisswell has been around a while shuttling between the majors and minors in a few systems before he landed in Boston. Due to starter injuries, he has been pushed into the rotation and had some succes, even though the peripherals look similar to Jake Irvin with a bit more luck. I've not dived into detail about what the thinking is on Criswell's success or whether Boston's pitching philosophy (limit the 4 seamers) has helped him tap into something. Gore again gets a tough draw in Bello. Bello is a young GB pitcher the Red Sox locked up very early. Looks like he's a bit vulnerable to HRs when there's fly contact. The BABIP difference with Gore is eye-popping.
Red Sox have been dealing with a ton of injuries (e.g., their middle infield of Story and Grissom were both out for much of the season until Grissom came back this week; Triston Casas is out, too, after being their second best returning hitter) but have also gotten some suprisingly good performances from rookies and guys who were sort of projected as marginal. Connor Wong at C has been terrific; he's the only remaining piece of the Mookie trade. Wilyer Abreu is crushing it among the rookies, while Tyler O'Neil is crushing it as a cast off acquired by trade. Jarren Ruran makes for a nice outfield. Rob Refsnyder is another marginal piece they use well.
By position player fWAR, the Sox and Nats are 19th and 20th at 3.2. Boston does it with an average offense (100 wRC+), while the Nats rely on their legs (3rd in Base Running Runs) to compensate for a lack of XBH. IT may seem strange, but the Nats actually walk more than the Red Sox (9.2BB% vs. 8.7%). Both teams are rough defensively.
