Buchholz was in trouble right from the get-go although Joey Rickard grounded out to third to begin the game. Manny Macado popped up to catcher Blake Swihart but Chris Davis walked. Mark Trumbo singled to put two men on but Clay got Matt Wieters to strike out to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting on the board against Mike Wright. Mr.Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the first and struck out. Dustin Pedroia lashed a single to right but Xander Bogaerts struck out as well. David Ortiz revved up the crowd with a towering home run to right field to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. Hanley Ramirez flied out to right but the Sox had a lead to work with.
Pedro Alvarez worked a walk to open the top of the 6th but Buchholz settled down to get JJ Hardy to fly out to left. Jonathan Schoop flied out to center and Ryan Flaherty struck out to end the inning. Travis Shaw lined out sharply to third to start the bottom of the second. Brock "The Hitman" Holt drew a walk but Swihart lined into a double play when Holt was doubled off first. So much for that.
Rickard struck out to open the top of the third. Machado flied out to left and Davis struck out. A rare clean inning for Buchholz. Jackie Bradley Jr and Mr. Mookie both struck out to start the bottom of the third. Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning.
The O's struck back in the top of the 4th. Trumbo was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on the running catch by Mr. Mookie. Alvarez popped up and then Hardy hit one of the cheapest homers in history, wrapping a ball just around the pesky pole for a 300 foot 2 run home run. Schoop grounded out but the game was tied.
:"Here we go again..."
Could the Sox rally in the bottom of the 4th? NO! Bogaerts grounded out and Ortiz flied out, but Ramirez singled. Both Shaw and Holt were hit by a pitch to load the bases. With a chance to give the Sox the lead back....Swihart grounded out.
Buchholz struck out Flaherty to start the top of the 5th. Rickard grounded out and Machado grounded out to third in short order. Nice bounce back inning for Clay. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the 5th. JBJ singled and Mr. Mookie doubled him home. Pedroia grounded out but advanced Betts to third. Mookie scored on the wild pitch by Wright and it was 4-2 Boston. Bogaerts flied out and Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
The wheels fell off for Clay in the top of the 6th. Davis singled and Trumbo lofted a pop up on the first base side. Swihart had the play...AND DROPPED IT!
Buchholz proceeded to crap himself as Trumbo made the Sox pay when he smashed a game tying two run home run over the monster seats. Wieters walked and Alvarez doubled him to third to chase Buchholz. The mental makeup of Buchholz is appalling. Noe Ramirez was brought in to stop the bleeding. Hardy hit a sac fly to right that scored Wieters with the go-ahead run and send Alvarez to third. Schoop flied out and Flaherty was intentionally walked and promptly stole second. Rickard struck out but the O's now led 5-4. Dylan Bundy replaced Mike Wright for the bottom of the 6th. Ramirez grounded out but Shaw doubled. Holt grounded out but advanced Shaw to third. Could Swihart atone for his error and lack of clutchness earlier? Nope....he grounded out.
The O's struck again in the top of the 7th. Machado singled to chase Ramirez as Robbie Ross Jr entered the game. Davis struck out but Trumno doubled Machado to third. Both runners scored on the single by Machado to give the O's a 7-4 lead. Alvarez beat out a double play ball to put runners on first and third. JJ Hardy then hit yet another one right around the Pesky Pole to ice the game 9-4....that's 5 rbi's for Hardy in this game. Schoop grounded out but the damage was done. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the 7th. JBJ grounded out, Mr. Mookie popped up and Pedroia flied out.
JBJ flashed the leather by gunning down Flaherty at second to open the top of the 8th on a single. Rickard singled but wisely stayed at first.....until Swihart bobbled a pitch which allowed Rickard to reach second. Swihart has been terrible defensively the first 2 weeks of the year. Machado flied out and Rickard reached third on yet another bobbled pitch. David walked but Trumbo flied out. The Sox attempted one last rally in the bottom of the 8th. Rickard moved to right and Adam Jones came in to play center. Bogaerts reached on an infield single and Ortiz doubled him home to cut the deficit 9-5. Ramirez popped up as TJ McFarland was brought in as John Farrell pinch hit Chris Young for Travis Shaw amidst another chorus of boo's. Right on cue Young flied out as the boo's grew louder. Holt grounded out to end the inning. Its one thing if Shaw couldn't hit lefties, but he can, which makes Farrell look like a clown for pinch hitting for him and Young failing.
Tommy Layne finally made his season debut in the top of the 9th as Young stayed in left field and Holt moved to third base. Layne struck out Wieters and Alvarez then got Hardy to ground out. At least he's fresh. Swihart finally got one base with an infield single to start the bottom of the 9th but was erased on the JBJ double play. O's manager Buck Showalter then pissed off the crowd by relieving McFarland with Darren O'Day. Mr. Mookie doubled but Pedroia grounded out to end the game. The O's had prevailed 9-5, dropping the Sox to 3-4 on the season.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one. Buchholz fell apart in the 6th inning but Blake Swihart couldn't catch a cold. Ramirez and Ross provided no relief and Farrell continued to pinch hit Shaw for Young only for Young to do nothing. Still, I gotta go with Swihart. Not only was he a defensive disaster, he came up twice in clutch situations and failed.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a run scored and a run batted in. David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a run scored, a 2 run blast and 3 total rbi's. Travis Shaw was plunked and went 1 for 2 before being lifted.
The Bad:
Chris Young pinch hit for Shaw and flied out. Clay Buchholz took the lost by puking on himself mainly in the 6th inning. The Hardy home run was a fluke but the Trumbo homer was not. Clay pitched just 5 innings, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks despite striking out 5. His ERA is a hideous 10.00. Robbie Ross Jr was smacked around for 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk as John Farrell refuses to use him as a specialist, which Torey Luvello did at the end of last season.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 but scored a run. Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run. Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4. Brock Holt was 0 for 2 but walked and was hit by a pitch. Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 4 but made a great throw and scored a run. Noe Ramirez gave up a run in one total inning but it was more Ross' fault than his own.
Final Thoughts
The Sox offense once again plated 5 runs but got no pitching help in yet another defeat. This is looking a lot like last year with the pitching being atrocious. If the Sox ever get good starting pitching, this team could be potentially devastating, but for now they're horrible. The bullpen can't save them every time and it certainly didn't in this one. The Sox look to salvage the series as Joe Kelly goes up against Ubaldo Jimenez tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment