As for the game, the Boston Red Sox bounced back big time from their failure in New York to sweep the Washington Nationals three straight games on the road. They did it in both blowout and tight fashion but all 3 wins count. In a rare July 4th morning start, the Sox looked sluggish offensively but took advantage of Washington's starter going one inning to tag the bullpen for 3 runs late in the game. Eduardo Rodriguez (10-3, 3.84 ERA) bounced back from his last bad start to toss 6 shutout innings while the bullpen took care of the rest. The Sox had swept the Nationals out of Washington with a 3-0 shutout win at Nationals Park.
Nationals starter Erick Fedde took the mound in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts greeted him with a single. Betts was erased on the force by Brock "The Hitman" Holt but JD Martinez grounded out to second. Steve Pearce grounded out to short to end the inning. Rodriguez took the ball in the bottom of the first and struck out Adam Eaton to begin the frame. Trea Turner singled but Anthony Rendon popped up to second. Bryce Harper grounded out to third to end the inning.
Rafael Devers singled to open the top of the second but Nationals starter Erick Fedde fell to the ground clutching his shoulder. He had to be carried off the field and had to be replaced by Matt Grace.
Eduardo Nunez whiffed and Devers was picked off to kill the threat before Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Rodriguez stayed tough in the bottom of the second as Mark Reynolds whiffed to start. Michael A Taylor whiffed but Wilmer Difo walked. Pedro Severino grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to begin the top of the third before Rodriguez himself whiffed. Mr. Mookie grounded out to third to end the inning. Grace himself lined out to third to open the bottom of the third before Eaton flied out to center. Turner singled but Rendon flied out to left to end the inning.
Holt grounded out to second to begin the top of the fourth but Martinez doubled. Pearce grounded out to short and Devers whiffed to end the inning. Rodriguez whiffed Harper to open the bottom of the fourth before Reynolds whiffed as well. Taylor lined out to right to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the fifth as Nunez lined out to right to begin. JBJ grounded out to second and Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning. Difo whiffed on a full count to start the bottom of the fifth before Severino tried to bunt his way on. Devers picked the ball up and threw it completely out of the park for an error to send Severino to second. Goodwin lined out to center and Eaton flied out to right to end the inning.
Brandon Kintzler took over for Grace in the top of the sixth and Rodriguez grounded back to the mound to begin. Mr. Mookie singled but Holt looked at strike three. Martinez singled but Pearce flied out to center to end the inning. Rodriguez came back for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth and got Turner to ground out to third to begin. Rendon lined out to right before Harper grounded out to second to end the inning. After his disaster in New York, E-Rod bounced back with 6 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and one walk while striking out 6.
The Sox struck first against Ryan Madson in the top of the seventh inning as Devers doubled to start. Nunez singled him to third. JBJ hit a fly ball to Eaton and Devers broke for home. The throw was so awful it sailed away allowing not only Devers to score but Nunez to advance to third. Vazquez grounded out to first and Andrew Benintendi pinch hit for Rodriguez. The ball four pitch that walked Benintendi got away and Nunez made a mad dash home for the second run. Mr. Mookie flied out to center to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 2-0 on the two mistakes.
Matt Barnes was first out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh as Daniel Murphy pinch hit for Reynolds. Murphy grounded out to first but Taylor singled. Difo looked at a full count strike three before Severino popped up to third to end the inning.
Shawn Kelley got the call to pitch the top of the eighth and Holt flied out to center to begin. Martinez looked at strike three before Pearce grounded out to short to end the inning. Joe Kelly was brought in for the bottom of the eighth and Juan Soto pinch hit for Kelley only to line out to second. Kelly blew away Eaton and Turner to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the ninth with Kelvin Herrera now on the mound. Devers flied out to left but Nunez singled and JBJ doubled Eduardo home. Vazquez whiffed before Blake Swihart pinch hit for Kelly. Swihart drew a walk and Mr. Mookie was plunked to load the bases. Justin Miller relieved Miller and Holt grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth and Rendon greeted him with a base hit. Harper whiffed but Murphy singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Kimbrel responded by blowing away Taylor and getting Difo to hit one up the elevator shaft to end the game. The Sox had swept the Nationals in their own park with a 3-0 win.
Hero of the Night is Eduardo Rodriguez. He tossed 6 shut-out innings while the Sox offense was held in check for most of the game, giving the team the inside track to win the game.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a hit by pitch.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with 2 rbis.
Andrew Benintendi walked as a pinch hitter.
Blake Swihart walked as a pinch hitter.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 26th save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Brock Holt was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Steve Pearce was 0 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 stikeouts.
The Ugly:
None
Final Thoughts:
Now that's the way to bounce back. Fans wondered how the Sox would respond to getting their asses kicked in New York and the Sox did it by sweeping the Nationals on the road, beating their ace in the process. The pitching of Rick Porcello and Rodriguez can't be under estimated as both of them contributed to the sweep. Today the offense was at a premium which was unusual for a July 4th game but the Sox was able to do just enough to win. After scoring 11 runs yesterday, 3 runs seems about right for the next day and they were able to shut down Harper and the Washington offense. Good to see some of the guys besides Betts and Martinez pitch in and they're gonna need more of that if they want to go into the All-Star break with momentum. The win improved the Sox to 59-29, 1 game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day Thursday the Sox continue their road trip in Kansas City on Friday night. Chris Sale (8-4) looks to continue the win streak when he takes on Jason Hammel at 8:15 PM at Kauffman Stadium.
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