Mariners 8, Red Sox 0: Walker Buehler breaks Boston’s winning streak

During the Red Sox six game winning streak entering tonight, they gave up a grand total of eight runs in all of those contests combined. Tonight? Walker Buehler allowed eight runs by the fourth inning!

Absolutely nothing was working. Buehler looked uncomfortable, lacked command, gave up line drives all over the park, threw balls out of the zone that were uncompetitive, and strikes in the zone that were meatballs. As a result, the game felt over in the second inning when Cal Raleigh hit this grand slam:

It gets even worse when you consider the sequence that led up to it. Buehler walked three Mariners in the inning, including the two right before Raleigh’s death blow with two outs. He simply couldn’t get back to the dugout, and it all occurred right after the his defense nearly bailed him out with this relay:

In other words, Buehler gave the team no chance to win, and that’s pretty much the entire story of the night. He wasn’t historically bad like Tanner Houck was in a couple of starts earlier this year, but he was lousy enough to ensure nothing was competitive.

Meanwhile, Bryan Woo pitched great for the Mariners. So great in fact that the Red Sox probably lose this game anyway even they got a good outing from Buehler. Combine these factors and this is a strong contender for the most unremarkable game of the year. As beautiful and complex as baseball is on most nights, sometimes one starting pitcher is just so much better than the other guy that nothing else matters. Tonight was one of those nights.

The more interesting fallout from a game like this is how hot it may or may not make Walker Buehler’s rotation spot. Plenty of fans have already seen enough:

Buehler is currently slated to start next Monday against the Angels as the Red Sox work their way down the west coast, and if he drops another stink bomb there, you’d have to imagine some uncomfortable conversations may be in order when the team gets back to Fenway Park. He’s already allowed 21 runs in his last 18 innings of work, and the majority of his pitches look depressingly uninspiring.

Duds

Walker Buehler: Gave the team zero chance to win. Singlehandedly burned the winning streak to the ground.

Roman Anthony: He probably faced the best pitching he’s ever seen in his baseball life tonight, and he went 0-4 with three strikeouts. This is a good opportunity to learn and adjust.

Rob Refsnyder: He can sure pound lefties, but tonight showed why he shouldn’t be in the lineup against righties. Once Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida come back, they will likely move into the “DH against righties” role.

Studs

The Bullpen: Zack Kelly, Brennan Bernardino, Jorge Alcala, and Luis Guerrero didn’t allow a run after the book closed on Buehler (although Kelly did allow one of Buehler’s runners to score). At least now the high leverage arms in the bullpen will be fully ready to go for the series finale if needed.

Marcelo Mayer: The only Red Sox starter with a hit.

Nate Eaton: He had the only other hit after pinch hitting for Jarren Duran in the ninth inning. (The pickings are slim!)

Play of the game:

Cal Raleigh’s grand slam. Even though Buehler continued pitching after that happened, it felt like a knockout blow.