The Rays wasted no time getting to Rodriguez in the top of the first inning as Yandy Diaz singled to left to start. Tommy Pham singled Diaz to third but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Brandon Lowe singled home Diaz to put the Rays up for good 3 batters into the game. Avisail Garcia singled Lowe to third and Brandon scored on the Travis d'Arnaud sac fly to ice the game. Willy Adames took strike three to end the inning but the Rays were up 2-0.
Mr. Mookie Betts greeted Snell with a base hit to right to start the bottom of the first. Christian Vazquez walked and a wild pitch moved both runners over. The rally ended right then and there as Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Nunez all struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Rays struck again in the top of the second inning although Christian Arroyo grounded out to first to start. Guillermo Heredia then hit a home run all the way into the Nile River to increase the lead. Daniel Robertson grounded out to second and Diaz took strike three to end the inning but the Rays were up 3-0.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second as Sam Travis singled to center to begin, Jackie Bradley Jr singled Sam to third but Sandy Leon whiffed and JBJ was picked off second. That was huge as Marco Hernandez singled home Travis to cut the lead. Mr. Mookie popped up to first to end the inning but the Sox were down 3-1.
Rodriguez recovered in the top of the third to freeze Pham for strike three to start. Lowe took strike three and Garcia grounded out to short to end the inning. Snell settled down in the bottom of the third as Vazquez grounded out to third to start. Bogaerts flied out to right and Chavis whiffed to end the inning.
d'Arnaud grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fourth before Adames whiffed. Arroyo grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Nunez grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth before Travis grounded out to third. JBJ hit a ground rule doubled to right but Leon flied out to left to end the inning.
Heredia flied out to left to start the top of the fifth before Robertson watched strike three go by. Diaz singled to second but Pham grounded into a force to end the inning. Hernandez grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Mr. Mookie popped up to short. Vazquez whiffed to end the inning.
The Rays struck again when Lowe pounded a home run into the Charles River to open the top of the sixth. Garcia walked but d'Arnaud took strike three. Adames lined out to right but Arroyo walked to chase Rodriguez. Eduardo didn't have it as he was lit up for 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings to take the loss. Heath Hembree came in and plunked Heredia and Ji-Man Choi pinch hit for Robertson. Hembree blew away Choi to end the inning but it was 4-1 Rays.
Bogaerts reached on an error by Garcia to start the bottom of the sixth but Chavis whiffed. Nunez lined out to center and Travis grounded out to short to end the inning.
Marcus Walden came in for the top of the seventh and naturally Diaz hit a home run to the Baltic Sea to increase the lead. Pham grounded out to third but Lowe smashed a home run that hit the top of the Great Wall of China to add to the score. Garcia singled to left and Sox manager Alex Cora stormed out the dugout with a sickle and swung it at Walden. Marcus ducked under it and ran for cover before Colten Brewer materialized out of thin air to pitch. d'Arnaud singled to left but Adames whiffed. Arroyo grounded into a force to end the inning but it was 6-1 Rays.
Oliver Drake took over for the bottom of the seventh and JBJ whiffed to start. Leon and Hernandez stroked back to back singles before Mr. Mookie whiffed. Vazquez popped up to third to end the inning.
Brewer returned for the top of the eighth and Heredia grounded out to third to start. Choi and Diaz stroked back to back singles but Choi was out at third on the force by Pham. Lowe whiffed to end the inning. Bogaerts walked to start the bottom of the eighth but Chavis popped up to second. Nunez took strike three and Travis whiffed to end the inning.
Ryan Brasier came on for the top of the ninth and Garcia grounded out to third to start. d'Arnaud hit a ground rule double to right but Adames went down swinging. Arroyo flied out to right to end the inning. Adam Kolarek came on to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth. JBJ grounded out to second to start but Leon singled to left. Leon moved to second on defensive indifference and to third on the Hernandez grounder to third.. Mr. Mookie took strike three to end the game. The Rays had won it 6-1.
Jackass of the Night is Eduardo Rodriguez. He was matched up with Snell and crapped his pants, failing to last 6 innings while allowing 4 runs.
The Good:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 4.
Marco Hernandez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Heath Hembree got the last out of the sixth inning.
Colten Brewer tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Michael Chavis was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Marcus Walden got lit up for 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Sam Travis was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Guess its just not the Boston Red Sox year. The good teams in MLB beat them almost every time and the Rays just took 3 of 4 from them. Its not just the Rays, the New York Yankees beat the tar out of the Sox too. The Sox starters just can't get it done and it all goes back to Alex Cora sandbagging Spring Training. There's still time to turn it around but if there's a picture in the dictionary for "World Series hangover" it would be the 2020 Sox. The Sox could have got to Snell early but they let him off the hook and he cruised after. Meanwhile the Rays hit home run after home run like it was effortless. The less said of this disaster, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 34-32, 7 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to bounce back when they play a set with the Texas Rangers. Chris Sale goes for the Sox up against Mike Minor at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment