Still missing a starter: Carroll roughed up to cap doubleheader sweep
/Scott Carroll came out for the seventh inning of Tuesday night's doubleheader nightcap, having gotten steadily hammered throughout the night already, facing his fourth trip through the batting order and trying to keep hold on a one-run deficit.
I can only chuckle at anyone who thinks its wrong to question Robin Ventura's decision-making at this point, but the desperate motivations behind it are also clear: a doubleheader, a horrid bullpen, and other starters who could certainly need a hand this week in games where they stood a better chance. There's so little depth in the Sox pitching staff, Ventura opts for controlled burns.
Carrol wound up kickstarting a four-walk seventh inning (Ventura helped out by intentionally juicing the bases, which led to Jake Petricka walking in a run), and the Angels had their insurance run in a 7-5 victory.
The 29-year-old hat entrepreneur was tagged for 10 hits in six innings, including four-straight singles in a three-run second, struck out just two, and had his control fall apart in the end. Andre Rienzo is a more confounding trainwreck to watch, but Carroll not doing anything well at all is not a great way to differentiate himself.
A cheap, towering fly down the right field line served as the first home run of the year for Conor Gillaspie, and the two-run blast made up some of the 3-0 deficit the Sox faced after two innings. When a matching Cole Kalhoun two-run blast and an RBI single from Hank Conger put the Angels back up 6-2 going into the sixth, the Sox surprisingly chased Weaver with three more in the bottom half.
Gillaspie added his third RBI of the night by slapping a single through the right field hole, and came home when Weaver uncharacteristically dared Dayan Viciedo into action with multiple hangers on the upper half. The suddenly streaking right fielder obliged and stroked his third home run in the last week to left to draw the Sox within one again. Alejandro De Aza singled to right to put the tying run on, but Weaver capped his night at 5.2 innings clinging to a 6-5 lead by getting a low strike three called on Adrian Nieto, and after an Eaton walk, Leury Garcia's night of horrible at-bats snuffed out any Sox threat.
The Sox looked frisky again when Gillaspie earned a leadoff walk in the eighth against Jason Grilli, but two-straight loud outs became a lineout and a threat-ending double play.
Team Record: 39-46
Next Game: 7:10pm vs. Fake Los Angeles on CSN
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