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The plots don't lie: Scherzer vs. Bogaerts and Iassogna

The game is over, the bottles popped, the tickets booked, the plaudits discharged.

Many of these plaudits have been directed towards Red Sox rookie Xander Bogaerts, who usurped the struggling Will Middlebrooks at third base in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series and firmly ensconced himself at the position after a mere two starts.

That's probably because the 21-year-old Aruba native -- who was a member of the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in June -- played a pivotal role in Boston's victory over the Tigers in the ALCS, particularly in Game 6, where the precocious rookie emerged victorious in all three of his plate appearances, helping the Red Sox to a 5-2 victory and a trip to the World Series.

Bogaerts is entirely deserving of all the superlatives being thrown his way, and his future is brighter than a really compelling metaphor, but the young infielder had some help from the man behind the man behind the plate on Saturday.

Let's take a peek.

Plate appearance #1
Having witnessed his teammates' futility against Scherzer through the first two innings, the astute rookie came to the plate with probably the most tenable plan once can devise against Scherzer: don't swing until you have to, and pray he can't locate.

Bogaerts' approach paid off in his first plate appearance of the game, as he fouled off a 3-2 fastball before drawing a walk on the subsequent pitch, another fastball that just missed off the outside black.

Though the leadoff walk didn't end up hurting Schezer -- he narrowly avoided a three-run homer off the bat of Dustin Pedroia before getting him to bounce into an inning-ending double play -- Bogaerts' free pass represents the first occasion of home plate umpire Dan Iassogna refusing to give the presumptive Cy Young award winner the benefit of the strike zone.

With Bogaerts addled in an 0-2 count, Scherzer painted the outside corner with a fastball that Iassogna missed, according to Pitch F/X, and helped the 21-year-old battle back before ultimately taking a walk.

(Iassogna 1; Scherzer 0)

Plate appearance #2
In the fifth inning, Bogaerts came to the plate for a second time in a fairly unenviable position, with the bases empty and two outs (also, he was facing Max Scherzer).  The right-hander started Bogaerts off with a fastball that missed low and away before opting to challenge the youngster with a fastball in on the hands -- Bogaerts swung through it -- and subsequently dropping in a front-door slider that Bogaerts fouled off.

In another favorable count, Scherzer once again looked to paint the outside corner with a fastball, a plan he executed with aplomb.  Sure enough, Iassogna didn't give him the call, evening the count at 2-2.

Scherzer then tried to get Bogaerts to chase with a slider he buried in the dirt, but the kid didn't budge, working his way into another full count.  Not wanting to issue a second successive walk to the youngest player in Red Sox history to start a playoff game, Scherzer opted to come inside with a fastball, but his offering caught too much of the plate, and Bogaerts plastered it high off the wall in left-centre for a double.  Jacoby Ellsbury ended up singling to right field in the next at-bat to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

Yes, Bogaerts squared up one of the best right-handed pitchers in the game, but the at-bat (and inning) could have been over had Iassogna given Scherzer the call.  

(Iassogna 2; Scherzer 0)

Plate appearance #3
Boston's intrepid third baseman dug in for a third time in the pivotal seventh inning, with the hirsute Jonny Gomes standing on second base after ripping a leadoff double that missed the Green Monster bleachers by mere inches.  

Working with a 2-1 lead, Scherzer wasn't messing around.  He threw Bogaerts a first-pitch slider after starting him off with heaters in successive plate appearances, but buried the offering for a ball.  Behind in the count, Scherzer went back to the fastball for a strike that split the middle of the plate before doing the exact same thing on the next pitch to make the count 1-2.

Scherzer missed low with another fastball before going back to the slider, and Bogaerts, disciplined beyond his years, took the pitch to work yet another full count.  Likely frustrated by the remarkable consistency and quality of Bogaerts' plate appearances, Scherzer did something he hadn't done all night: he threw Bogaerts a 3-2 changeup that broke over the outside part of the plate, even if he missed Alex Avila's target by a few inches.

As he did all night, Iassogna refused to give Scherzer the outside corner and Bogaerts sauntered down to first base, effectively chasing the right-hander from the game.  The rest, as they say, is history.  

(Iassogna 3; Scherzer 0)

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