Sparkman began his dominance in the top of the first inning when Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to right to start. Somehow Andrew Benintendi doubled but moved to third on the JD Martinez ground out to second. Rafael Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Rodriguez tried to keep pace in the bottom of the first as Whit Merrifield took strike three to start. Nicky Lopez grounded out on a squibber in front of the mound before Adalberto Mondesi whiffed to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third to start the top of the third before Brock "The Hitman" Holt walked. Holt moved to second on the Michael Chavis grounder before Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Royals iced the game early in the bottom of the second as Alex Gordon doubled to start. Jorge Soler flied out to right but Cheslor Cuthbert crushed a 400,000 foot bomb to put the Royals on top. Kelvin Gutierrez and Martin Maldonado both grounded out to third to end the inning but the Royals had the lead 2-0.
Sparkman cruised in the top of the third inning as Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left to start. Mr. Mookie flied out to left and Benintendi flied out to center to end the inning. Billy Hamilton singled to open the bottom of the third but Merrifield lined out to left. Lopez flied out to left and Mondesi whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Martinez lined out to left to begin. Devers grounded out to short and Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. Gordon hit a routine grounder to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Holt kicked the ball and laughed at it for an error. Soler singled but Cuthbert looked at strike three. Gutierrez banged into a double play to end the inning.
Somehow Holt made up for his error by lashing a single to start the top of the fifth but Chavis whiffed and Vazquez watched strike three go by. JBJ flied out to center to end the inning, Maldonado whiffed to begin the bottom of the fifth but Hamilton singled. JBJ made a great play in center and gunned down Hamilton who tried to tag up and go to second to end the inning.
The Sox finally rallied in the top of the sixth as Mr. Mookie doubled to center to start. Benintendi flied out to center and that was it for Sparkman. Scott Barlow came in and JD Martinez tripled in Mookie to put the Sox on the board. Devers walked and Bogaerts tied the game with a sac fly that scored Martinez. Holt doubled in Devers to put Boston on top. Chavis lined out to center to end the inning but the Sox were on top 3-2.
Rodriguez came back for the bottom of the sixth and froze Lopez for strike three to start. Mondesi singled and stole second but Gordon was rung up for strike three to end Eduardo's night. Dr Quick Hook Cora pulled E-Rod after just 89 pitches but he pitched well, allowing just the 2 run homer in 5 2/3 innings without walking anyone. Heath Hembree came in and got Soler to fly out to center to end the inning.
Brad Boxberger was on for the top of the seventh and Vazquez watched strike three go by to begin. JBJ grounded out to second but Mr. Mookie walked. Benintendi whiffed to end the inning. Marcus Walden came on for the bottom of the seventh and Cuthbert grounded out to short to start. Gutierrez walked but Maldonado whiffed. Hamilton grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox picked the game in the top of the eighth against Jake Diekman. Martinez started with a single but was erased onnthe Devers force. Bogaerts singled and Sox manager Alex Cora flashbacked to Game 1 of the World Series by pinch hitting Holt with Eduardo Nunez. Nunez responded with a 3 run bomb to ice the game. Chavis looked at strike three and Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning but it was 6-2 Sox.
Brandon Workman came in for the bottom of the eighth inning and Merrifield grounded out to first to begin. Lopez whiffed and Mondesi grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox tacked it on in the top of the ninth inning against Kevin McCarthy. JBJ grounded out to second and Mr. Mookie grounded out to first but Benintendi walked. Martinez singled Benintendi to third and Devers doubled both men home to wrap up the scoring. Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning but it was 8-2 Sox.
Ryan Brasier had mop up duty in the bottom of the ninth and Gordon greeted him with a double. Soler flied out to right and Gordon moved to third before he scored on the Cuthbert grounder to short. Gutierrez whiffed to end the game with the Sox winning it 8-3.
Hero of the Night is Eduardo Nunez. His pinch hit 3 run home run was the difference in the game.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Brock Holt was 2 for 2 with a walk and an rbi.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with 5 2/3 innings of 2 run ball while giving up just 6 hits and striking out 7.
Heath Hembree retired the only man he faced.
Marcus Walden pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Michael Chavis was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored.
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but walked, scored twice and drove in 2 runs.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run and drove in one.
Final Thoughts:
Hey look the Sox won 2 in a row. Granted it was against the Royals but a win is a win. The New York Yankees got to feast on Baltimore and the Royals for 2 weeks straight and now its the Red Sox turn. Somehow the Sox have won 9 of Rodriguez' 10 starts this season which is a sharp contrast to tomorrow night's starter. The Sox had no answer for Sparkman but once the bullpen came in it was open season. The Sox need to feast on some starters so every game isn't a come from behind affair. If Benintendi and Betts ever get hot again, this team may go on a winning streak for once. The win improved the Sox to 31-29, 7.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to establish a winning streak tomorrow night when Chris Sale (1-7, 4.35 ERA) looks to win a game for once against Jakob Junis at 8:10 PM at Kauffman Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment