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| Ruby De La Rosa last night |
July 29,2014.
BOSTON -- Yet again, the Boston Red Sox couldn't touch Marcus Stroman.
After firing seven powerful innings in the Toronto Blue Jays' 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night, Stroman has now held the Red Sox to one run over seven hits in 14 combined innings in his last two starts. He's been dominant in every sense of the word, overpowering with a fastball and embarrassing Boston's hitters with his off-speed offerings.
"He's a good-looking young pitcher," said manager John Farrell.
In the 23-year-old Stroman, the Blue Jays have a clear ace in the making, their No. 1 pitcher for years to come and a reason to believe they could conceivably win the American League East. They're 58-50 and within striking distance of the first-place Baltimore Orioles.
As the Red Sox fell even further into the division cellar at 48-59, they're left wondering who their ace might be.
Unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension with Jon Lester, Boston's front office must now think about trading him before Thursday's deadline. The team has scratched Lester from Wednesday's start in anticipation of working out a deal.
They have no clear heir to the throne, but 25-year-old Rubby De La Rosa has shown flashes and the club believes he has the potential to be Lester-like. There will be a learning curve.
De La Rosa was inconsistent again on Tuesday, allowing nine hits over six innings as three runs scored on his account.
"I thought he gave us a solid effort," Farrell said.
He's allowed 10 runs over 10 combined innings in his last two starts, both against the hard-hitting Blue Jays. He has a mid-90s fastball, but can't always place it where he wants. And his changeup has often been predictable.
Colby Rasmus began the assault by crushing a 94-mph fastball to deep center field, high over the wall some 420 feet from home plate in the second inning. The Jays added two more on three hits in the fourth. It took 112 pitches, but De Le Rosa made it through six innings.
With seven strikeouts and eight walks over his last four starts, De La Rosa hasn't quite looked the same since his emphatic debut in May, when he threw seven shutout innings while striking out eight. With the playoffs out of reach, the Red Sox should have plenty more opportunities for De La Rosa to develop.
"I feel good," De La Rosa. "I feel my pitches were working good. Had a couple mistakes and they hit them. After that, everything was good."
Getting Xander Bogaerts going again might be the top priority for the Red Sox as the last two months of the season play out. He hit a mammoth home run in the ninth inning, jacking a pitch from Casey Janssen into the third row of the Green Monster seats. There's speculation that Stephen Drew could be traded, allowing Bogaerts to move back to shortstop, his natural position. He's hitting .162 since the beginning of June after hitting .304 through May.
"I'm a young guy," he said. "This is probably my first time going through stuff like this, trade deadline, in the big leagues. I know it's definitely going to tough on the veteran guys."
Andrew Miller, who may have pitched his last game in a Red Sox uniform on Tuesday, fired a shutout inning to lower his season ERA to 2.40. A free agent at the end of they year, Miller is expected to command a good return if the Red Sox were to trade him by Thursday.
The Red Sox are selling and the Blue Jays are rolling. Who would've thought?
