As for the game, what's left to say about how bad the Boston Red Sox pitching and offense is? For the second day in a row the Tampa Bay Rays feasted on the pathetic bullpen of the Boston Red Sox. After Martin Perez (2-2, 3.45 ERA) left in the sixth inning, the Rays pounced on Austin Brice and Robert Stock for six runs in the top of the seventh. For the second day in a row the Rays scored 8 runs, the Red Sox haven't scored 8 runs since Opening Day. After losing starter Andrew Kittredge two batters into the first inning, the Rays bullpen tossed 8 2/3 innings of 2 run ball. The pathetic offense and equally pathetic bullpen led to an easy 8-2 victory for the Rays.
The Rays wasted no time getting to Perez in the top of the first inning. Mike Brosseau hit the sixth pitch of the game into the Charles River to give the Rays the lead instantly. Yandy Diaz flied out to left, Austin Meadows took strike three and Jose Martinez flied out to center to end the inning but the Rays were ahead 1-0.
Andrew Kittredge got the start for the Rays but didn't last long in the top of the first. Andrew Benintendi singled but Alex Verdugo popped up to center. Kittredge then started clutching his arm and keeled over. Andrew had to be hauled off on a gurney and rushed to Brigham & Women's ICU and John Curtiss came in to pitch. JD Martinez whiffed and Benintendi was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning.
Hunter Renfroe grounded out on a squibber in front of the plate to start the top of the second and Ji-Man Choi took strike three. Willy Adames walked but Manny Margot flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second although Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to start. Mitch Moreland grounded out to first but Christian Vazquez doubled to right. Michael Chavis scored Vazquez with a base hit to center and Jackie Bradley Jr singled off the glove of Choi., Jonathan Arauz grounded out to short to end the inning but the Sox tied it 1-1.
The Rays immediately took the lead back in the top of the third although Mike Zunino took strike three to begin. Brosseau put himself halfway to the cycle with a double to left and Diaz singled him home. Meadows popped up to short and Martinez lined out to short to end the inning but it was 2-1 Rays.
Benintendi tried to start a rally with a base hit off the glove of Choi to start the bottom of the third and moved to second on the Verdugo grounder. Martinez flied out to center and Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
Perez settled down in the top of the fourth as Renfroe lined out to center to start. Choi flied out to right and Adames grounded out to third to end the inning. Jose Alvarado came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Moreland was hit with a pitch to start. Vazquez flied out to right and Chavis banged into a double play to end the inning.
Margot flied out to center to start the top of the fifth before Zunino grounded out to second. Brosseau grounded out to third to end the inning. JBJ whiffed to start the bottom of the fifth but Arauz singled to left. Benintendi whiffed and Verdugo popped up to short to end the inning.
Diaz took strike three to start the top of the sixth before Meadows whiffed. Martinez walked and Sox manager Ron Roenicke bounded out of the dugout. For some reason Roenicke pulled Perez after just 94 pitches. Someone want to tell Roenicke that this isn't April and there's only 43 games left in the season? Perez did well for 5 2/3 innings by allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks. Austin Brice came in and got Renfroe to ground back to the mound to end the inning.
Ryan Thompson came in for the bottom of the sixth and Martinez walked to start. Bogaerts banged into a double play and Moreland grounded out to short to end the inning.
The wheels fell off in the top of the seventh although Choi whiffed to start. Adames singled to center and Margot doubled him home. Zunino walked and Brandon Lowe pinch hit for Brosseau, pounding a ground rule double to right to score Margot. Diaz beat out an infield single to second to score Zunino. Finally...FINALLY, Roenicke pulled Brice. The incompetent reliever was charged with 5 runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Robert Stock made his season debut by walking Meadows. Yoshi Tsutsugo pinch hit for Martinez and popped up to third but a passed ball by Vazquez scored Lowe and moved the runners over. Renfroe doubled home both runners to wrap up the scoring. Choi took strike three to end the innings but the Rays put six runs on the board and iced the game 8-1. Absolutely bawful.
Diego Castillo came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and the Sox went quietly. Vazquez and Chavis whiffed before JBJ flied out to right to end the inning.
Stock returned for the top of the eighth and Adames took strike three to start. Margo singled to right but Zunino whiffed. Lowe and Diaz walked to load the bases to chase Stock. Dylan Covey came in and got Meadows to ground out to second to end the inning. Aaron Loup came in for the bottom of the eighth and only the Sox could screw this rally up. Arauz singled to right and Benintendi was hit with a pitch to put runners on. Verdugo singled in the hole at short and Arauz scored easily, but Benintendi fell down rounding second and was tagged out. Naturally Martinez flied out to center and Bogaerts whiffed again to end the inning with the Sox down 8-2.
Tzu-Wei Lin took over for Moreland but played short as Kevin Plawecki took Bogaerts spot but went to first for the top of the ninth. Tsutsugo grounded out to short, Renfroe popped up to first and Choi lined out to center to end the inning. Nick Anderson came in for the bottom of the ninth and Lin struck out swinging to start. Vazquez went down hacking but Chavis tripled into the gap in center. JBJ went down swinging to end the game. The Rays had won it 8-2.
Jackass of the Night is Austin Brice. He was charged with 5 runs in just 2/3 of an inning to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch.
Michael Chavis was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Jonathan Arauz was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Dylan Covey tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Tzu-Wei Lin struck out in his only at-bat.
Robert Stock allowed 2 inherited runners to score and 1 of his own in 1 1/3 inning.
The Ugly:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 2 but was hit with a pitch.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Martin Perez was the hard luck loser as he tossed 5 2/3 innings of 2 run ball.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Plawecki played first base in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Ready to drink Drano yet Sox fans? If the terrible pitching isn't enough to want to take a swan dive off the Tobin Bridge, the offense is. The Rays scored 8 runs in back to back games and the Sox haven't scored more than 7 since Opening Day. The Sox bullpen has allowed 14 runs in the past two games and it just doesn't get any better from here. The Sox can call up one bum after another but its not going to make a difference without any starting pitching. Eduardo Rodriguez suffering from Covid related heart disease, Chris Sale needing Tommy John and Colin McHugh opting out due to Covid sapped the team of 3 starters but the worst part is not replacing them. Oh it gets better, Sox prospect Kyle Hart makes his Major League debut on Thursday. What's the catch? He was the 568th overall pick in the 2016 draft. That means MLB thought 567 high school and college players were better than he was. Now for the positives, Michael Chavis and Jonathan Arauz hit pretty well and Martin Perez pitched well....that's about it. The loss drops the Sox to 6-11, 5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox send Zack Godley (0-1, 3.97 ERA) to the mound up against Rays ace Blake Snell at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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