It may not have strictly been a must-win game, but after watching what may be the worst bullpen performance of the entire MLB season, the Red Sox definitely needed a win, just to end the weekend on a positive note. Taking the mound were Rick Porcello and Marcus Stroman.
Early on, it felt like one of the keys to winning today’s game would be for Porcello to go at least six innings, and try to keep the bullpen out of this game for as long as possible. Normally that’s the strategy anyway for this team, simply because the bullpen is not very good, but this is especially true after last night, after the bullpen gave up 7 runs in the 7th and 8th inning combined, ruining a decent start by Brian Johnson.