I had no wager last night, but as a fan, I was not upset at all at Porcello pitching the 8th...
Farrell is pretty much in a damned if he do, damned if he don't spot right now, because he has made SO many bad decisions this year that no matter what he does if they lose it's his fault...
In this case, Porcello had cruised through the last couple innings with ease and looked dominant, and I would have rather had a dominating Porcello than a shaky Ziegler out there (who seems to have 2 great outings to every bad 1)...
I hate to say it, but in this rare case, it wasn't Farrell's fault, Boston had 2nd and 3rd no out to start the 7th and had to add at least 1 insurance run, and in reality you really need to bring both men in, in that situation with your 1-2-3 hitters coming to bat... Porcello made ONE bad pitch, and when you do that to Longoria, he will make you pay
Once into extras, things just did not look good from a bullpen standpoint, although Hembree mostly pitched well, the error should have never happened, it was pretty routine but guys like Kiermaier are always a thorn in Boston's side (Rajai Davis is another that comes to mind)... they make you rush plays that don't need to be rushed because of their speed
Theres a lot of things to think about for DD and Farrell going into September... A. With Benintendi likely sidelined (they say the sprain looks pretty bad), they are back to a Holt/Young platoon, which isn't too bad a thing, but they need a spark plug at the 9 spot in the order, which brings me to B. Yoan Moncada, who can be called up Sept 1 to play 3B, moving Travis Shaw to a utility role (where he seems more suited), Moncada brings the Benintendi factor back to the 9 hole, but with even more speed. And C. How does the bullpen shake out? This team more than any other, has no defined roles beyond the 9th inning, is Ziegler the sure fire 8th inning guy? I don't think so, I like him better in the 7th paired with Ross in a L/R split, and I actually love the idea of Buchholz in the 8th, a'la Hughes in 2009 for the Yanks. Either way, should be an exciting 5 weeks!