SUNDAY'S NOTEWORTHY NOTES

THEY ARE INSANE

42 DAYS FROM TODAY WILL BE THE FINAL DAY OF THE REGULAR SEASON

INSANITY

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - The fictitious definition of insanity.

These are the days when small sample sizes are a thing of the past, and patterns become fixtures. Consequently, when teams do things once and they don’t work, and then do them again, and sometimes again, you begin to believe in that definition of insanity.

Last night's game between the Padres and the Dodgers prompted my thinking.

In the top of the 1st, Fernando Tatis led off with a single against the Dodgers’ starter, Blake Snell. Dodgers catcher Will Smith threw him out stealing after the second pitch to Luis Arraez.

On the seventh pitch to Arraez, he hit a ground-rule double. Manny Machado then hit an infield single to put runners on first and second. After a Jackson Merrill lineout. The Padres attempted a double steal with Xander Bogaerts at the plate. Dodgers catcher Will Smith threw Machado out stealing after the fifth pitch.

This meant that after the top of the 1st, Snell had surrendered three hits and no runs. The lineout was the only out he recorded.

It remains nuts in the bottom of the 1st. Dylan Cease is the Padres starter, and he walks Shohei Ohtani on five pitches, Mookie Betts on five pitches, and Will Smith on seven pitches. With one out, Teoscar Hernandez hits a sac fly. Then, Cease reloads the bases by walking Andy Pages on six pitches. Michael Conforto then singles two runs home.

This meant that at the completion of the 1st, the Dodgers were leading 3-0 after recording one hit and four walks.

Wait, wait, just let me tell you what happened in the top of the 2nd.

Remember that Xander Bogaerts was at the plate when Machado was thrown out stealing? Xander led off the 2nd with a single. But (I’m pausing to take a deep breath), Dodgers catcher Will Smith threw Bogaerts out stealing after the second pitch to Ramon Laureano.

The Dodgers won, 6-0. It was their seventh win against the Padres this season, which means they own the tiebreaker if the two teams end with identical records.

Following the game, the Dodgers seemed committed to completing the sweep, and the Padres were committed to Arkham.

YOU’RE INSANE IF YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT THE OLDE TOWNE TEAM AT FENWAY

The Red Sox beat the Marlins yesterday, 7-5, giving Boston a 41-22 (.651) record at home.