Doug Fister (3-7, 4.53) began his afternoon by throwing up on himself. Tim Beckham singled to start the day although Manny Machado struck out. Jonathan Schoop grounded out to third but Beckham moved to second. One out away from getting out of the inning, Fister balked Beckham to third and he scored on the Adam Jones double. Trey Mancini smashed a ground rule double to score Jones. Davis whiffed but it was 2-0 O's.
The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the first against Miley but Eduardo Nunez popped up to second to start. Andrew Benintndi lashed a single to left and Mookie Betts doubled him to third....but Hanley Ramirez whiffed on a pitch that nearly hit him. Chris Young popped up to third to end the inning. Some lefty killer.
Fister settled down in the top of the second inning as Mark Trumbo looked at strike three to start. Wellington Castillo grounded out to short and Seth Smith grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the second partially due to Xander Bogaerts striking out to start. Rajai Davis grounded out to third but Rafael Devers doubled off the Monster. Once again a runner was stranded when Sandy Leon grounded out to third to end the inning.
Fister cruised in the top of the third as Beckham lined out, Machado struck out and Schoop grounded out to second to end the inning. Once again the Sox had a shot to tie the game in the bottom of the third, but Nunez grounded out to start. Benintendi grounded back to the mound but Betts walked. Ramirez singled to put the tying runs on.....but Young struck out to end the inning.
Fister ran into trouble in the top of the fourth inning when Jones walked and Mancini singled him to third. Davis then hit a rocket to Hanley...who stared down Jones at third before stepping on first for the out. Trumbo hit one back to the mound, Fister holding Jones and flipping to first for the out. Castillo grounded out to third to end the inning. Good work for Fister.
The Sox made a boo boo in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bogaerts lined out to Machado but Davis singled......and was thrown out at second trying to steal. Devers whiffed to end the inning.
Smith walked to open the top of the fifth inning but Beckham struck out. Machado flied out to left and Schoop grounded out to end the inning. The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the fifth as Leon singled to start, although he was erased on the force by Nunez. Benintendi walked but Betts flied out to right. Ramirez walked to load the bases....but Young flied out to right to end the inning. Young has left 7 men on by himself so far.
Fister did what he could in the top of the sixth inning. Jones grounded out to first and Mancini struck out, but Davis singled. Trumbo flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth when Bogaerts doubled to chase Miley from the game. Mychal Givens came in to strike out Davis, but Devers doubled in Bogaerts to put the Sox on the board. Leon walked to put the go-ahead run on first....but Nunez struck out. Richard Bleier came in to pitch to Benintendi....and walked him to load the bases. Buck Showalter, managing this game like it was Game 7 of the world series, brought in his third reliever Miguel Castro to pitch to Betts. Mookie struck out to end the inning as the Sox have now left 12 men on base total, but did score to cut the lead 2-1.
Fister came back for one last inning in the top of the seventh and got Castillo to ground out to short. Smith flied out to right and Beckham struck out to end the inning. Fister had tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball, 9 times out of 10 that's good enough to win. Still, he's shown a lot of improvement this month.
The Sox had ANOTHER chance to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh as Craig Gentry replaced Smith in right. Ramirez walked as Mitch Moreland pinch hit for the incompetent Young and worked a walk. Rather than drop a bunt down, Bogaerts swung away and nearly banged into a double play, erasing Moreland at second. Still, there were runners at the corners but Davis banged into a double play to end the inning as THUNDEROUS boos rained down.
Addison Reed was first out of the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning and he struck out both Machado and Schoop. Jones flied out to center to end the inning. Devers whiffed but Leon walked to put the tying run on again. Brock Holt pinch ran for Leon as Brad Bach was brought in to pitch, getting Nunez to line out to right. A wild pitch moved Holt to second...but Benintendi lined out to a diving Gentry to end the inning. THIRTEEN runners left on base for the Sox, absolutely pathetic.
Vazquez took over behind the dish with Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel now pitching. Mancini singled but Davis lined out to right. Trumbo struck out and Castillo flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox waived the white flag in the bottom of the ninth inning. Betts grounded out to second, Ramirez flied out to center and Moreland grounded out to first to end the game. The fading Sox had left 13 men on and were swept out of Fenway 2-1.
Jackass of The Night is Chris Young. He left SEVEN men on base by himself, failing 3 times with chances to tie the game or more.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Doug Fister pitched pretty well. He went 7 innings and gave up just 2 runs, normally that would be good enough to win.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless 8th.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Mitch Moreland made the final out of the game but walked earlier.
Rajai Davis was just 1 for 4 and got thrown out trying to steal.
Honorable Mention:
Brock Holt pinch ran in the bottom of the eighth.
Christian Vazquez caught the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
It looks like the Red Sox are starting their September swoon a bit early. There is still a month left in the season but it doesn't look like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez or Jackie Bradley Jr is going to come anywhere close to where they were last year. They relied on Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers for too long, and now it's going to cost them. From here on in the Red Sox are going to have to win games low-scoring since they don't have the firepower to bop their way back into games. The good news is the Orioles are leaving town and the better news is the Sox travel to Toronto to face the freefalling Blue Jays. Tomorrow night Drew Pomeranz matches up with Marcus Stroman at 7:05 PM in the Skydome.
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