Burke solid, but bats sleepy in 4-2 loss to Seattle

Chase Meidroth drove in the first Sox run on Sunday, slashing a double into the right-field corner. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images I have to be honest with you, reader, the players on the field in this one were about as tired of Spring Training as I am. Sean Burke was solid in his final tuneup before adding “Day After Opening Day Starter” to his CV, allowing just a pair of runs over five innings.

Unfortunately, he wound up the hard-luck loser when his lineup failed to make a dent in the formidable pitching operation of the defending AL West champs. Burke registered six strikeouts in those five innings of work despite severely diminished fastball velocity, averaging a hair faster than 92 mph on his heater tonight after sitting in the 94-95 mph range all spring. Given that it’s his last outing before the games actually count, it could be that the sophomore righthander just wasn’t trying to fully air it out and risk being fatigued for his scheduled regular season start on Saturday.

Still, it’s something to keep an eye on. And the diminished velo was directly responsible for one of the two runs he allowed, when he placed a fastball on a tee up in the zone to Mitch Garver, who is not an impossible hitter to get a high fastball by if it’s not 91 mph. View Link One pitcher who wasn’t working with diminished stuff?

Bryan Woo, who gave up a double to Andrew Benintendi to lead off the game and then proceeded to sit down the next 16 Sox hitters, four of them by strikeout. He brushed 97 mph on a buzzing heater and allowed just an 84 mph average exit velocity, with no one topping 100 mph between Benintendi’s double and a 107 mph line out from Munetaka Murakami in the fifth. Bryan Woo, Nasty 85mph Sweeper.