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The Red Sox lead the series 4-1 but four of the five games were decided in the 8th inning or later. The one that wasn't was decided in the bottom of the 7th when the Red Sox scored five runs to break up a 3-3 tie.
IOW, this has been a close, very competitive series with every game decided late. The difference has been the bullpens. The Indians bullpen has given up 15 earned runs in 17 innings.
What was considered one of the strengths of the team in the first half has pretty much evaporated with the losses of Maton, Karinchak, and Sandlin. The bullpen's ERA in five games against the Red Sox is 7.94. With solid relief pitching the Indians could be 5-0, and that's with two games started by Morgan and one by Allen.
I find this extremely encouraging for next year assuming the front office moves aggressively to bring in a couple of good relievers in the off-season and they get Karinchak straightened out. There is no excuse after this series not to make rebuilding the bullpen the top priority for the off-season.
IOW, this has been a close, very competitive series with every game decided late. The difference has been the bullpens. The Indians bullpen has given up 15 earned runs in 17 innings.
What was considered one of the strengths of the team in the first half has pretty much evaporated with the losses of Maton, Karinchak, and Sandlin. The bullpen's ERA in five games against the Red Sox is 7.94. With solid relief pitching the Indians could be 5-0, and that's with two games started by Morgan and one by Allen.
I find this extremely encouraging for next year assuming the front office moves aggressively to bring in a couple of good relievers in the off-season and they get Karinchak straightened out. There is no excuse after this series not to make rebuilding the bullpen the top priority for the off-season.