As for the game, yet another one where the Sox failed to show up against a mediocre starting pitcher. David Price (2-2) was game but the immortal JC Ramirez of the Los Angeles Angels held the Sox to one measly run in 6 innings. Meanwhile the Angels had no problem hitting Red Sox pitching as they came away with a 6-3 victory at Fenway Park. To top it off, Sox manager John Farrell blew his top and may be suspended for bumping an umpire.
Things went bad right from the start for the Red Sox with Price on the mound. Cameron Maybin grounded out to short but Kole Calhoun singled. Albert Pujols followed with a single but Andrelton Simmons struck out. One out away from getting out of it, Martin Maldonado singled home Calhoun. Danny Espinosa lined out to end the inning but it was 1-0 Angels.
Could the Sox answer in the bottom of the first against the immortal JC Ramirez? Hell no. Mr. Mookie Betts lined out although Dustin Pedroia got a lucky single. Naturally Xander Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning.
Price recovered to pitch a good top of the second inning. Luis Valbuena grounded out, Eric Young Jr flied out and Cliff Pennington struck out to end the inning. The Sox tied it up in the bottom of the second when Mitch Moreland blasted his 10th homer of the year to center. The Sox caught a break when Benny The Kid singled but Calhoun booted it, allowing Benintendi to reach second. Ramirez whiffed but JBJ was hit with a pitch. With 2 men on...Vazquez and Marrero both grounded out to end the inning. Still, the Sox had tied it up 1-1.
Price nearly had a clean top of the third inning when Maybin grounded out to start. Calhoun also grounded out but Pujols doubled. Simmons grounded out to end the inning. The Sox did nothing against Ramirez in the bottom of the third. Mr. Mookie watched strike three go by, Pedroia grounded out and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
The Angels took command in the top of the fourth although Maldonado struck out to begin the inning. Espinosa grounded a ball to Bogaerts who suddenly turned around and threw it 300 feet away into the Monster Seats for an error. Espinosa then stole second although Valbuena lined out to Marrero, One out away from getting out of it, Young Jr doubled home the go-ahead run. Pennington struck out to end the inning but bad defense led to a 2-1 Angels lead.
Could the Sox claw back in it in the bottom of the fourth? Hell no. Moreland grounded out then both Benny The Kid and Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
Price rebounded in the top of the fifth as Maybin grounded out, Calhoun grounded out and Pujols whiffed to end the inning. Ramirez dominated the bottom of the fifth as JBJ grounded out to start. Vazquez grounded out and Marrero struck out to end the inning.
The Angels tagged Price in the top of the sixth as Simmons led off with a double. Maldonado grounded out but Simmons moved to third. Espinosa walked and Valbuena scored Simmons with a sac fly. Espinosa was picked off first to end the inning but it was now 3-1 Angels. Price had gone 6 and given up 3 runs, not the worst but not good enough today.
The Sox tried to fight back when Mr. Mookie struck a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth but Pedroia popped up. Bogaerts and Moreland both grounded out to end the inning.
Things imploded in the top of the seventh with Abad on the mound. Young Jr lined out but Pennington singled and scored on the double by Maybin. Things went from bad to worse as Maybin stole third on a sleeping Vazquez and scored on a questionable balk by Abad. Furious manager John Farrell stormed out of the dugout and threw a roundhouse right at the umpire, luckily the umpire ducked under it but Farrell dropped him with a Haystacks Calhoun like belly bump. As the crowd roared, Farrell was thrown out of the game and nearly had to be escorted out by police. When action resumed, Calhoun struck out only for Blaine Boyer to magically appear out of nowhere, chasing Abad away. Pujols flied out to end the inning but it was now 5-1.
David Hernandez took over for Ramirez who had thrown 6 innings of 1 run ball. Benny The Kid led off the bottom of the seventh by striking out before Ramirez flied out. JBJ whiffed to end the inning...absolutely brutal.
Boyer returned for the top of the 8th and Simmons grounded out. Maldonado grounded out and Espinosa struck out to end the inning. Kenyan Middleton got the ball in the bottom of the eighth and the offense was still asleep. Vazquez popped up, Marrero looked at strike three and Mr. Mookie grounded out to end the inning.
Matt Barnes got the ball in the top of the ninth just to get some work in and the Angels tagged him too. Valbuena struck out but Young Jr was plunked. Young stole second off a sleeping Vazquez and Pennington walked. Maybin grounded out but both men moved over. Young scored on the single by Calhoun but Pujols flied out to end the inning. The Angels now led 6-1.
All those insurance runs came into play when the Sox somehow rallied in the bottom of the ninth against Cam Bedrosian. Pedroia grounded out but Bogaerts doubled. Moreland struck out but Benintendi walked. Ramirez doubled home Boagerts to cut the lead. JBJ walked to load the bases and Vazquez struck out to en.....WAIT! The ball got away from the catcher and Benintendi scored, everyone else moving up. Suddenly it was a 6-3 game with the bases loaded. How big were the bullpen runs allowed now? Tzu-Wei Lin made his major league debut pinch ranning for Vazquez but closer Blake Parker came in to pitch to pinch hitter Chris Young. Young whiffed to end the game, the Angels had won it 6-3.
Jackass of the Night is once again Christian Vazquez. Guys were stealing bases off him all night which led to crucial runs scoring and he was near useless at the plate.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr walked and was hit with a pitch in 4 plate appearances.
Blaine Boyer threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Bad:
Deven Marrero was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Chris Young struck out as a pinch hitter.
Fernando Abad gave up 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.
Matt Barnes gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a huge error, but scored a run.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 but made it count with his 10th home run.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
David Price took the loss but got no run support as he tossed 6 innings of 3 run ball. Normally that would be good.
Honorable Mention.
Tzu-Wei Lin made his major league debut by pinch running for Vazquez.
Final Thoughts:
I'm pretty sure Red Sox fans have seen enough of this garbage offense. How many times do they have runners on second and third with no or one out only to strike out or pop up? How many outs are they going to run into? How many more errors are they going to make? This has got to be one of the worst first place teams in MLB history. If the New York Yankees weren't in a free fall, everyone in Baltimore getting hurt at once and everyone in Toronto getting old at once, they'd be 5 games out at least by now. Hell even the Tampa Bay Rays are only a few games back. If the Sox don't find a way to hit mediocre pitching then this season is going to get ugly real quick. Its not as if David Price pitched bad, he didn't. It will be interesting to see if the Sox respond after John Farrell's outburst in this game....nah, they have no chance. Our next defeat is tomorrow afternoon. The immortal Parker Bridwell shuts down the Sox and Doug Fister will be the hard luck loser in his Red Sox debut at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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