At first Fister pitched well in the top of the first inning. Cameron Maybin led off by watching strike three go by. Kole Calhoun flied out to center and Albert Pujols flied out to right. The Sox made Bridwell look like a future Hall of Famer in the bottom of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to second, Dustin Pedroia lined out to right and Xander Bogaerts struck out to end the inning.
The wheels fell off in the top of the second inning after a judgement call broke the team's psyche. Luis Valbuena struck out but Andrelton Simmons and Ben Revere stroked back to back singles, Simmons advancing to third on the play. Danny Espinosa smacked one to Moreland who fired to second for the out and back to first...DOUBLE PLAY! The Sox jogged off the field congratulating themselves but the devious Angels manager Mike Scisosia had other ideas. He had the call challenged at first and the umpires ruled Espinosa SAFE! Simmons scored to give the Angels a 1-0 lead, the Sox returned to the field, and all hell broke lose. Naturally with a second chance, Kaleb Cowart doubled home Espinosa and Juan Graterol singled him in only to be gunned down at second trying to stretch to end the inning. Rather than being in the dugout tied, it was now 3-0 and the game was all but over already.
The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the second inning when Mitch Moreland led off with a solo blast to center, his 11th of the year, to cut the lead. Andrew Benintendi flied out but Hanley Ramirez was hit with a pitch. Jackie Bradley Jr struck out but Christian Vazquez singled. With the tying runs on, Deven Marrero whiffed to end the inning. Still, the Sox showed some life to trail 3-1.
Fister settled down in the top of the third inning. Maybin flied out to right but Calhoun walked. Pujols banged into a double play to end the inning. Unfortunately Bridwell settled down too in the bottom of the third inning. Mr. Mookie grounded out, Pedroia flied out and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Fister put up a goose egg in the top of the fourth inning. Valbuena struck out, Simmons grounded out and Revere lined out to end the inning. The Sox made a boo-boo in the bottom of the fourth inning. Moreland grounded out but Benny The Kid singled....only to be thrown out at second trying to stretch. Ramirez popped up to end the inning.
Fister battled in the top of the 5th as Espinosa grounded out but Cowart walked. Cowart was gunned down trying to steal and Graterol struck out to end the inning. JBJ electrified the crowd by blasting his 10th home run of the year to center to cut the lead to 1 leading off the bottom of the fifth. Then the Sox shot themselves in the foot AGAIN as Vazquez singled to put the tying run on base...only to get thrown out trying to steal. Marrero whiffed and Mr. Mookie flied out to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.
Fister did his part in the top of the sixth inning as Maybin was rung up on strike three. Calhoun singled but Pujols walked strike three go by. Valbuena singled but Simmons grounded out to end the inning. The Sox failed to hit Bridwell in the bottom of the sixth inning as Pedroia flied out and Bogaerts grounded out. Moreland singled to put the tying run on but Benny The Kid lined out to end the inning.
Sox manager John Farrell tried to squeeze one more inning out of Fister but it failed as Revere singled and Espinosa walked to lead-off the top of the seventh inning. Still, it was a solid debut for Fister, too bad his offense is incompetent.
Robby Scott came in and got Cowart to line out before Graterol flied out. Heath Hembree was brought in to face Maybin and he got him to ground out to end the inning. Good work by the bullpen to keep it a one run game.
Ramirez did his part by lashing a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh but JBJ lined out and Vazquez flied out. Farrell sent out Sam Travis to pinch hit for Marrero and Scisosia countered by lifting Parker Bridwell for Blake Parker. Travis whiffed to end the inning. The immortal Parker Bridwell had pitched 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball, shameful.
Tzu-Wei Lin replaced Travis at third with Joe Kelly now in the game in the top of the eighth. Calhoun grounded out and Pujols grounded out. Valbuena singled but Simmons grounded out to end the inning. Yusmeriro Petit came in to blank the Sox in the bottom of the eighth. Mr. Mookie popped up, Pedroia grounded out and Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in to pitch the top of the ninth and curiously crapped his pants. Revere singled and Espinosa damn near hit one out, only it was foul by inches. Revere stole second but Espinosa struck out. Cowart singled home Revere to give the Angels a huge insurance run. Graterol and Maybin grounded out to end the inning but it was now 4-2 Angels. Petit returned for the bottom of the ninth and got Moreland to pop up. Benny The Kid singled to bring the tying run to the plate but Ramirez popped up. JBJ grounded out to end the game. The Angels had won 4-2, more pathetic offense.
Jackass of the Night is real tough because not one person stood out as the cause of the downfall. I'll have to go with Craig Kimbrel. Fister battled after the first inning and the whole team sucked with men on base. Kimbrel's insurance run allowed was huge.
The Good:
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 3.
Robby Scott retired the two men he faced.
Heath Hembree got the only guy he faced.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts
Deven Marrero was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
Sam Travis struck out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but the hit was a solo home run.
Doug Fister took the loss but recovered from a bad first inning to toss 6 innings of 3 run ball in his debut while striking out 6.
Honorable Mention:
Tzu-Wei Lin played third base in the top of the ninth
Final Thoughts:
Thank god this series is over. It exposed the Red Sox offense as completely pathetic and they need help big time. Doug Fister did the best he could but it doesn't help when you don't score. Betts, Bogaerts and Pedroia going 0 for 12 is the primary culprit. The loss dropped the Sox to 41-34, percentage points behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox start a 4 game series with the Minnesota Twins. Chris Sale will be the hard luck loser as Jose Berrios most likely shuts down the Sox at 7:05 PM.
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