Hall made his Red Sox debut in the top of the first inning and surprisingly did NOT crap his pants. Amed Rosario flied out to right and Pete Alonso went down hacking. Jeff McNeil grounded out to short to end the inning. Jose Peraza tried to start a rally in the bottom of the first against David Peterson with a base hit...but was thrown out at second trying to stretch. JD Martinez whiffed on a pitch not even close and Rafael Devers grounded out to second to end the inning.
As usual the Sox fell behind in the top of the second as JD Davis singled to start. Michael Conforto took strike three but old friend Yoenis Cespedes was hit with a pitch. Robinson Cano effortlessly doubled to left to score Davis to put the Mets up for good. Wilson Ramos grounded out to third but Brandon Nimmo walked to load the bases. Naturally Rosario laughed as he singled to right to score both Cespedes and Cano. JBJ had to climb the centerfield wall to rob Alonso of a home run to end the inning but the game was over 3-0.
As usual when the Sox fell behind, they failed to come back. Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to start but Kevin Pillar got a lucky infield single to short. Pillar took second when Conforto reached into the stands to get a pop up from Michael Chavis but Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left to end the inning.
The end came quickly for Hall in the top of the third as McNeil flied out to left to start. Davis whiffed but Conforto drew a walk to chase him. Once again the Sox went with a bum to start the game and for the fourth straight game, they failed because of it. Hall lasted just 2 2/3 innings and gave up 3 runs.
Austin Brice came in and Conforto stole second, but Cespedes struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox pulled off a perfect microcosm of their terrible season in the bottom of the third. Kevin Plawecki doubled to left to start and Andrew Benintendi walked. Jose Peraza drilled a single to load the bases but Martinez struck out swinging. Devers hit a bullet to Cano and the Mets caight Benintendi in a run-down to end the inning. Plawecki did score during the rundown, but in essence in the Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out and did nothing. The Sox were down 3-1 and the fans would boo if there were any.
Somehow Brice didnt crap his pants in the top of the fourth inning. Cano walked but Ramos struck out swinging. Cano moved to second on the force by Nimmo but Rosario grounded back to the mound to end the inning. As usual the Sox failed to come back when trailing in the bottom of the fourth. Bogaerts lined out to right, Pillar lined out to center and Chavis flied out to right to end the inning.
The Mets iced the game in the top of the fifth although Alonso grounded out to second to start. McNeil singled and Davis bashed a 5,000,000 foot home run halfway to Delaware to put the game out of reach. That was it for Brice who surrendered two runs again. Colten Brewer came in and Confirto went down swinging. Cespedes grounded out to third to end the inning with the Mets up 5-1.
JBJ whiffed to begin the bottom of the fifth but Plawecki singled to third and took second on a throwing error. Benintendi walked but naturally Peraza banged into a double play to end the inning.
Plawecki made a rare error to allow Cano to reach in the top of the sixth. Ramos singled Cano to third but could only go to second on the Nimmo grounder. Somehow Brewer struck out Rosario swinging and got Alonso to fly out to left to end the inning. The Sox showed some life in the bottom of the sixth although Martinez grounded out to third to start. Devers doubled to center but Bogaerts lined out to left. Pillar doubled home Devers to cut the lead and chase Peterson. Drew Smith came in to pitch as Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Chavis. Naturally Moreland whiffed to end the inning with the Sox down 5-2.
McNeil grounded out to second to open the top of the seventh but Davis was hit with a pitch. Conforto struck out swinging again and Cespedes also went down hacking to end the inning. Good to see Brewer toss 2 2/3 solid innings.
Jake Marisnick took over for Davis while playing center with Nimmo going to left with Justin Wilson on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. The Sox rolled over as JBJ popped to short, Plawecki grounded out to third and Benintendi whiffed to end the inning. Say what you will about the dumpster diving pitching, the offense has scored 4 runs a less in 4 straight games.
Ryan Brasier made his season debut in the top of the eighth and puked on himself. Cano singled to left and Andres Giminez ran for him. Giminez moved to second on the Ramos grounder and scored on the Nimmo double to right. Rosario grounded out to short but Alonso walked and McNeil cleared the bases with a double to center to wrap up the scoring. Marisnick flied out to center to end the inning with the Mets up 8-2.
Dellin Betances came in for the bottom of the eighth and Peraza grounded out to third to start. Martinez grounded out to short but Devers singled to left. Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
Sox closer Brandon Workman made his season debut in the top of the ninth inning but Conforto greeted him with a single to right. Cespedes banged into a double play and Giminez grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox had a too little too late rally against Hunter Strickland in the bottom of the ninth. Pillar doubled to right and moved to third on the Moreland grounder. JBJ grounded out to short to score Pillar but Plawecki singled. How big were the 5 runs allowed by Brice and Brasier now? Benintendi whiffed to end the game, the Mets had won it 8-3.
Jackass of the Night is Austin Brice. He turned a 3-1 game into a 5-1 one and the Sox couldn't recover
The Good:
Jose Peraza was 2 for 4.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Kevin Pillar was 3 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Kevin Plawecki was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Colten Brewer tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 2.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Matt Hall allowed 3 runs in just 2 2/3 innings.
Ryan Brasier allowed 3 runs in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts and got caught in a run down, but walked twice.
Final Thoughts:
With MLB postponing games after the latest Covid outbreak, the Sox and their fans can't wait until the season gets cancelled. Its one thing for a pitching staff not to work out, like in 1997 and 2015, its another thing to not even make an attempt to improve it. The pitchers the Sox have sent out after Nathan Eovaldi aren't from the bargain bin, but from the bottom of the dumpster. Barely any of them should be in the league and they're in prominent positions on the Red Sox. How in the world can the Sox be competitive when they're down 3-5 runs before they even come to bat? The offense hasn't done themselves any favors either. They scored 13 runs on Opening Night and 12 runs total since. Having a new lineup by Sox manager Ron Roenicke every day isn't helping for consistency either. Can't even blame Roenicke because he's just an interim manager until Alex Cora comes back next year anyway. It would be nice if the Sox could find some starters that at least people have heard of. The Braves released Mike Foltynewicz because his velocity dropped from 94 to 89. As bad as all the guys that came after Eovaldi were, could he be any worse? The loss dropped the Sox to 1-4 on the season. The good news is tomorrow night the Sox will finally have a legitimate starting pitcher going. The bad news is Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 1.50 ERA) has to take on Mets ace Jake deGrom at 7:35 PM at Citi Field.
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