At this level, if Boston Purple Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill hits a house run, there’s a very good likelihood he’ll hit one other later within the recreation.
That was the case once more for O’Neill in Saturday’s 11-8 loss in 10 innings to the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
O’Neill actually did his half to attempt to carry the Purple Sox to a win as his energy surge continued. He crushed not one, however two go-ahead homers within the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, solely to see Boston’s bullpen cough up a late lead but once more.
O’Neill’s been extremely locked-in for the reason that All-Star break, a lot in order that he’s doing issues on the plate which have by no means been finished earlier than in Purple Sox historical past. Saturday’s efficiency marked his third multi-homer recreation in six contests, turning into the primary participant in franchise historical past to document that feat, based on Purple Sox senior supervisor of media relations and baseball data J.P. Lengthy. The 29-year-old is also as much as 5 multi-homer video games this season, which leads all of MLB.
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The pair of lengthy balls gave O’Neill 22 residence runs on the season and 100 now for his profession. He’s additionally batting .275 on the marketing campaign and with 43 RBIs from the center of the lineup.
O’Neill felt like he might recapture his 2021 type this season when he completed eighth in Nationwide League MVP voting whereas taking part in for the St. Louis Cardinals. Seems, he actually isn’t far off from that season and the Purple Sox buying and selling for him seems to be higher and higher with every ball he hits over the Inexperienced Monster.
Listed here are extra notes from Saturday’s Purple Sox-Yankees recreation:
— Boston’s bullpen is in a extremely tough place in the meanwhile. The Purple Sox have blown a lead within the seventh inning or later in seven out of eight video games for the reason that All-Star break. Boston was one out away from a win, however nearer Kenley Jansen allowed a double to Trent Grisham within the high of the ninth, which plated the game-tying run.
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“We bought the baton to the ninth inning, proper, and we didn’t end it,” Purple Sox supervisor Alex Cora advised reporters, per the Boston Herald’s Gabrielle Starr.
— The Purple Sox and Yankees mixed to make use of 15 pitchers within the recreation with Boston accounting for eight of these hurlers. The pitchers from either side mixed to throw a complete of 363 pitches.
— Kutter Crawford shut down the Yankees the final time he took the mound in opposition to New York. That wasn’t the case this time round. Crawford solely lasted 4 2/3 innings as he allowed 5 runs on eight hits — three of which have been residence runs — with 5 strikeouts.
“It’s what’s gonna preserve me up at evening. Not having the ability to give my group a full 5, and even six,” Crawford advised reporters, per Starr. “Bodily I felt fairly good, however clearly execution, mechanically wasn’t all there.”
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— Offense hasn’t been a problem as of late for the Purple Sox. They’ve now scored five-plus runs in seven straight video games, which is the longest streak since Boston and the San Francisco Giants each did that in 2021.
— Standings watch: A win might have helped the Purple Sox achieve some critical floor within the standings with the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas Metropolis Royals each dropping. However Boston nonetheless stays a recreation behind the Royals for the third and closing wild-card spot within the American League.
— The Purple Sox and Yankees play the rubber match of their sequence Sunday evening at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET and the sport could be seen on ESPN. The Purple Sox return to NESN airwaves Monday evening once they open up a three-game sequence in opposition to the Seattle Mariners.
