Basebawful Report of the Month

Matt Andriese - 2 Good, 4 Bad, 1 Ugly, 2 Jackass

Jonathan Arauz - 2 Good, 2 Bad

Christian Arroyo - 4 Good, 2 Bad, 1 Ugly

Matt Barnes - 6 Good, 2 Bad, 1 Hero, 1 Jackass

Eduard Bazardo - 1 Good

Xander Bogaerts - 10 Good, 5 Bad, 8 Ugly, 1 Hero, 1 Jackass

Colten Brewer - 1 Bad

Austin Brice - 2 Good, 2 Bad

Michael Chavis - 3 Good, 3 Bad, 1 Ugly, 1 Hero, 2 Honorable Mention

Franchy Cordero - 4 Good, 7 Bad, 3 Ugly

Bobby Dalbec - 4 Good, 9 Bad, 6 Ugly, 2 Hero

Rafael Devers - 6 Good, 4 Bad, 13 Ugly, 2 Hero

Nathan Eovaldi - 2 Good, 2 Bad

Marwin Gonzalez - 6 Good, 9 Bad, 6 Ugly, 1 Honorable Mention

Darwinzon Hernandez - 5 Good, 1 Bad, 2 Ugly, 1 Jackass

Kike Hernandez - 6 Good, 4 Bad, 6 Ugly

JD Martinez - 12 Good, 3 Bad, 9 Ugly, 1 Hero

Adam Ottavino - 9 Good, 1 Bad, 2 Ugly, 1 Jackass

Martin Perez - 5 Good

Nick Pivetta - 3 Good, 1 Bad, 1 Ugly

Kevin Plawecki - 5 Good, 3 Bad, 2 Ugly, 1 Honorable Mention

Hunter Renfroe - 10 Good, 4 Bad, 9 Ugly, 1 Hero

Garrett Richards - 3 Good, 1 Ugly, 1 Hero

Eduardo Rodriguez - 1 Good, 2 Bad, 3 Jackass

Danny Santana - 2 Good, 2 Bad, 1 Ugly, 2 Hero

Hiro Sawamura - 4 Good, 3 Bad, 1 Ugly

Josh Taylor - 9 Good, 1 Bad

Phillips Valdez - 4 Good, 4 Bad, 1 Ugly

Christian Vazquez - 9 Good, 5 Bad, 6 Ugly, 1 Hero, 1 Jackass, 2 Honorable Mention

Alex Verdugo - 11 Good, 5 Bad, 6 Ugly, 2 Hero

Garrett Whitlock - 3 Good, 2 Bad, 1 Ugly, 1 Jackass

Most Valuable Player of the Month is JD Martinez with 12 Good

The Least Valuable Players are Bobby Dalbec and Marwin Gonzalez with 9 Bad

The Ugliest Player of the Month is Rafael Devers with 13 Ugly

Heroes of the Month are Bobby Dalbec, Rafael Devers, Danny Santana, and Alex Verdugo with 2 Hero

Jackass of the Month is Eduardo Rodriguez with 3 Jackass

The Honorable Players of the Month are Michael Chavis and Christian Vazquez with 2 Honorable Mention

Astros Pound E-Rod, Sox on Memorial Day (5/31/21)

It was a bad night for Boston sports. The Boston Bruins lost Game 2 of their second round NHL playoff series to the New York Islanders and the Boston Red Sox suffered an epic beat down at the hands of the Houston Astros. The Astros have had to deal with a lot of criticism the last two years for their cheating scandals and they took out their frustrations on the collective bungholes of the Boston Red Sox. The Astros made mincemeat out of Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4, 5.64 ERA) who's now 0-4 in the month of May. Houston pounded out 13 hits, drew 6 walks and scored 11 runs to ice this game early. The Sox bats were silenced by Jose Urquidy who allowed just 1 run off 3 hits through 6 innings. The Sox had just 5 hits in the game as the Astros wiped the field with them 11-2 at Minute Maid Park.

Urquidy got the ball in the top of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to right to start. Alex Verdugo grounded out to first and JD Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jose Altuve tried to bunt his way on, but Eduardo snuffed it out. Chas McCormick walked but Alex Bregman banged into a double play to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to start. Rafael Devers and Danny Santana both struck out swinging to end the inning. The Astros struck first in the bottom of the second as Carlos Correa and Kyle Tucker stroked back to back base hits to start. Aledmys Diaz got a base hit to center to load the bases with nobody out. Taylor Jones scored Correa with a sac fly, advancing Tucker to third and Myles Straw hit a ground ball to Marwin Gonzalez. Gonzalez threw to first to get Straw as Tucker scored but Diaz strayed too far off second and they gunned him down to end the inning with the Astros ahead 2-0.

                                                 Yerrrrr out!

Urquidy dominated the top of the third as Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to start. Gonzalez struck out swinging and Hunter Renfroe grounded out to third to end the inning. The Astros iced the game quickly in the bottom of the third as Martin Maldonado effortlessly singled to left to start. Altuve easily clobbered a home run all the way to Dallas to ice it but somehow McCormick struck out swinging. Bregman took strike three and Correa struck out swinging to end the inning with the Astros up 4-0.

                                                Altuve hits one out

The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Hernandez and Verdugo both went down hacking to start. Somehow Martinez drew a lucky walk but Bogaerts flied out weakly to left to end the inning. Tucker lined out to center to start the bottom of the fourth and Diaz grounded out to short. Jones singled to right but Straw forced him at second to end the inning.

Devers struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Santana grounded out to second. Vazquez broke up the no hitter with a ground rule double down the right field line but Gonzalez grounded out to third to end the inning. Maldonado grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth but Altuve singled to center. McCormick took strike three but Bregman walked. Sox manager Alex Cora had enough of Rodriguez who once again laid an egg in his fourth straight start. Colten Brewer made his season debut by walking Correa to load the bases. Tucker effortlessly singled to center to score Altuve and Bregman. Diaz struck out swinging but the game was over 6-0.

                                                           E-Rod is broken again

The Sox finally rallied in the top of the sixth as Renfroe doubled to left to begin. Hernandez lined out to right, Verdugo doubled to left to score Renfroe to get the Sox on the board but Martinez struck out swinging. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 6-1.

                                                    Sox get on the board

Jones walked to start the bottom of the sixth but was thrown out at third by Hernandez on a base hit to center by Straw. Maldonado lined out to center but Straw stole second. Altuve walked and McCormick beat out a roller to third to load the bases. Bregman effortlessly singled to right to score Straw and Altuve for the exclamation point. That was it for the incompetent Brewer and Phillips Valdez poured gas on the fire when Correa doubled home McCormick. Tucker singled home Correa and Bregman to wrap up the scoring and Diaz lined out to left to end the inning with the Astros up 11-1.

                                               Tucker drives in two more

Enoli Paredes came in for the top of the seventh and blew away the Sox. Devers took strike three, Santana struck out swinging and Vazquez went down hacking to end the inning. Bobby Dalbec and Christian Arroyo came in for Bogaerts and Verdugo in the bottom of the seventh and Jones grounded out to third to start. Straw took strike three and Maldonado struck out swinging to end the inning.

Robel Garcia took over at second with Nivaldo Rodriguez now on the mound for the top of the eighth. Gonzalez flied out to left but Renfroe smashed his seventh home run of the season to cut the lead. Hernandez grounded out to third but Arroyo doubled to right. Martinez flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox down 11-2.

                                                    Renfroe goes deep

Matt Andriese took over on the mound with Kevin Plawecki taking over behind the plate and Vazquez giving Devers the night off in the bottom of the eighth. Garcia struck out swinging and McCormick also went down hacking, but Bregman was plunked. Correa walked but Tucker lined out to center to end the inning.

The Sox went quietly in the top of the ninth as Dalbec grounded out to third to start. Plawecki grounded back to the mound and Santana grounded out to second to end the game. The Astros whooped the Red Sox damn ass 11-2.

                                                     Astros win

Jackass of the Night is Eduardo Rodriguez. The incompetent lefty was charged with 6 runs in just 4 2.3 innings to put the game out of reach.

                                                   E-Jackass

The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

Christian Arroyo doubled in his only at-bat.

Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3.

Hunter Renfroe was 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 runs scored.

Matt Andriese tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Danny Santana was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Colten Brewer allowed 4 runs in just 1 inning.

Phillips Valdez allowed 2 inherited runners to score and 1 of his own in 1 1/3 inning.

The Ugly:

JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked,

Final Thoughts:

That was an epic disaster and something needs to be done about Rodriguez. He's back to where he was in 2016-17 where he nibbled and didn't trust his stuff. He's supposedly healthy and his velocity was fine so once again he's got the mental block in his head. Sox manager Alex Cora was able to fix him in 2018 so let's see if he can do it again. Once again the offense was silenced but that seems to be a common trait among the whole league...except the Astros tonight. The Astros pounded every mistake Sox pitchers made and they ended this one early. The Sox bats need to wake up real quick because the Tampa Bay Rays have won 16 of 17 and looks unstoppable right now. The Rays and New York Yankees are playing each other so it would be imperative to win the next two games to gain ground on someone. The Yankees offense hasn't been there this season and if that continues, the Sox and Rays can collectively take them out of the race early. As for this game, the less said of this disaster the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 32-21, 2.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow night when Garrett Richards (4-3, 3.83 ERA) takes on Luis Garcia of the Astros. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Minute Maid Park.

Rain-Out News: Down on The Farm 4 (5/30/21)

With today's game between the Boston Red Sox and Miami Marlins postponed to June 5th due to rain, its time to take a look at the final farm team of the Boston Red Sox. The Salem Red Sox are the Low A team and play at the Salem Memorial Ballpark. The team is currently 11-10 and managed by former Pawsox player Luke Montz.

                                                          Salem Memorial Ballpark

1. Gilberto Jimenez

The 20 year old Jimenez is the 6th ranked prospect in the system and he has not disappointed this year so far. As the leadoff hitter he's hitting .325 with 4 steals. He's a switch hitter and plays left field in Salem. Here's a guy who could be a speed demon in the future, keep an eye on him as he climbs through the ranks.

2. Will Dalton

The 23 year old right fielder is hitting .263 and 2 home runs. With all the outfielders in the system, hitting .263 isn't eye popping, but its early in the season.

3. Stephen Scott

Then 24 year old is hitting .241 with three home runs. The Salem outfield isn't exactly lighting the world on fire but they've only played 23 games so far. When the calendar hits July or August, we'll see who'll be playing with the 2021 draft class on its way.

4. Ceddanne Rafaela

The 20 year old infielder is another speedster that survived the round of cuts after Lowell bit the dust. He's hitting .273 with no power meaning he'll have to rely on speed and defense to get to the next level. He was their second round pick behind Cameron Cannon in 2019 and we'll see if he develops.

5. Nicholas Northcut

The 21 year old third basemen is hitting .243 with 14 rbis. With Hudson Potts and Jeter Downs in the system, he's going to have to do better than that if he wants to make the majors someday.

6. Alex Erro

The 23 year old infielder is also hitting just .240 with 3 stolen bases. These were the last group drafted by Dave Dombrowski before he was dismissed in September of 2019 so if they don't pan out, blame Dave.

7. Jake MacKenzie

The 22 year old infielder is the underdog of this group. He went undrafted last June and was signed as a rookie free agent. He's got a long road to climb but if he made is this far, it'll be easy to root for him to rise through the ranks.

8. Joe Davis

The 24 year old first basemen is hitting .333 with 2 home runs and 12 rbis. He lost a crucial year of development in 2020 so we'll see if he can continue to bat .300 as this season progresses.

9. Nick Yorke

                      

The 19 year old was Sox GM's Chaim Bloom's first round pick in last years draft. Yorke is hitting just .177 so far this season but it would be unfair to judge him too quickly. Covid wiped out his rookie ball season so he's going to need time and experience. We'll see where he is by June of 2023 before making a real decision on if he can play or not.

10. Jordan DiValerio

                                

The 23 year old was a rookie free agent pitcher signed last year and is currently leading the team with 4 wins. His ERA is 2.57 and looks to be able to get guys out. Like with Jake MacKenzie, he's a fabulous underdog story.

11. Cody Scroggins

                    

The 24 year old right handed pitcher is leading the team in appearances and his ERA is 0.75 in 12 innings. He's Salem's best relief pitcher and its only a matter of time until he hits Portland at this rate.

12. Jeremy Wu-Yelland

The 21 year old lefty was the fourth round pick in last year's draft. He's leading the team in strikeouts with 19 in 14 innings. Lefty pitchers are always valuable so we'll see if he can become the next Jon Lester.....or Henry Owens.

13. Aldo Ramirez

The 20 year old right hander is the 9th ranked prospect in the Red Sox system. He was an international free agent signed when he was 17 by Dave Dombrowski. Currently he's got an ERA of 3.71 in 5 starts with 16 strikeouts. Let's see how he looks by June or July.

As with a lot of these guys, they lost last year due to Covid and could be overmatched in Salem. With rookie ball not starting yet and Lowell gone, a lot of guys are going to come through Salem after the 2021 draft. We'll see how everyone looks and performs by that point.

Sox Gut Out Win Over Marlins (5/29/21)

Before the game it was announced Alex Cora would not be managing the Boston Red Sox today, choosing to attend the high school graduation of his daughter. Congratulations to her. Will Venable was named acting manager for today's game.

                                                    "If things go wrong, blame me" - Venable

It was a great night for Boston sports. The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Islanders in Game 1 of their second round NHL playoff series and the Red Sox grinded out a win against the Miami Marlins. The Sox got two runs off Marlins ace Taylor Rogers while Nathan Eovaldi (6-2, 4.01 ERA) pitched a shutout into the sixth inning. The bullpen was very shaky but held together by getting outs when they had to. The Marlins held the Sox to just 3 runs but Boston made them count. Bobby Dalbec drove in Rafael Devers, Kevin Plawecki drove in Hunter Renfroe and Renfroe scored Devers for the only runs the Sox would need. Matt Barnes got tagged but it wasn't too bad as the Sox had beaten the Marlins 3-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                        Charlie McAvoy approves of the win

Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first inning and Magneuris Sierra flied out to left to start. Starling Marte doubled to left but Jesus Aguilar struck out swinging. A wild pitch moved Marte to third but Garrett Cooper struck out swinging to end the inning. Rogers got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to right to start. Alex Verdugo lined out to second and JD Martinez lined out to center to end the inning.

Eovaldi turned up the heat in the top of the second as Corey Dickerson struck out swinging to start. Jon Berti took strike three and Isan Diaz struck out swinging. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second although Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to start. Rafael Devers singled in the hole at first, Hunter Renfroe singled to left and Bobby Dalbec dropped a base hit to left to score Devers to give Boston the lead. Kevin Plawecki took strike three but Christian Arroyo dropped a base hit to left. Dickerson came up gunning and nailed Renfroe at the plate to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.

                                              Dalbec puts Boston on top and Renfroe is out

Sandy Leon popped up to third to start the top of the third and "Cousin Jose" Devers struck out swinging. Sierra singled to right and Marte walked, but Aguilar lined out to third to end the inning. Hernandez popped up to first to start the bottom of the third and Verdugo struck out swinging. Martinez doubled to left and took third on a passed ball, but Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Marlins threatened in the top of the fourth as Cooper singled to right to start. Dickerson hit a blast to right but Renfroe caught it at the all. Berti hit a routine grounder to Devers who threw 100 feet over the head of Arroyo for an error. Eovaldi recovered to get Diaz to hit one up the elevator shaft and Leon to ground out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Devers grounded out to first to start. Renfroe doubled to left but Dalbec struck out swinging on a high fastball. Plawecki dropped a base hit to right to score Renfroe with another run. Arroyo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                  Plawecki adds to the lead

Eovaldi came back for one more inning in the top of the fifth as Devers lined out to right to start. Sierra struck out swinging and Marte grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez popped up to short to begin. Verdugo flied out to left but the wind turned a Martinez fly out into a double in front of Marte. Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.

Eovaldi returned for the top of the sixth and Aguilar lined out to a running Renfroe to start. Cooper singled to center and with lefties coming up, that was it for Eovaldi after 5 1/3 shutout innings. Josh Taylor came in and Dickerson hit a squibber in front of the plate that Plawecki hit him with a throw for an error. Berti struck out swinging and Diaz flied out to right to end the inning.

                                                     Eovaldi gets it done

Rogers returned for the bottom of the sixth and Devers hit a grounder up the middle that Diaz couldn't make a play on, Rafael sprinting to second for a "double". Renfroe grounded out to short but Devers took third anyway on a wild pitch. Dalbec struck out swinging and Plawecki grounded out to third to end the inning.

Taylor returned for the top of the seventh and Leon struck out swinging to start. Things went south as Devers hit a cue shot ground rule double down the left field line and took third on the swinging bunt base hit by Sierra. That was it for Taylor as Adam Ottavino was brought in to clean up the mess. Naturally Sierra stole second and Marte walked to load the bases. Somehow Ottavino struck out Aguilar swinging on a full count and Cooper on a 1-2 count to end the inning as the crowd went wild. 

                                                "Ah go on, go on, git!"

Adam Cimber came on for the bottom of the seventh and Arroyo grounded back to the mound to start. Hernandez grounded out to second and Verdugo grounded out to third to end the inning.

Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Dickerson grounded out to short to start. Berti struck out swinging but Diaz walked to chase Hernandez. Hrio Sawamura came in to face pinch hitter Jorge Alfaro (for Leon) and Devers threw another ball away for another error to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch moved Alfaro to second but Sawamura got Devers swinging on a nasty splitter to end the inning. 

                                                               Sawamura is fired up

The Sox added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth as Martinez grounded back to the mound to start. Bogaerts lined out to Diaz but Devers atoned for his errors with a double off the Monster. Renfroe singled to right to score Devers and took second on the throw from home to second. Dalbec hit a grounder up the middle Diaz couldn't make a play on to put runners at the corners. That was it for Cimber as Richard Bleier came in to pitch. Plawecki lined out to left to end the inning but it was now 3-0 Sox.

                                                      Devers scores another run

The run proved big when Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the ninth when Sierra caught the Sox asleep with a drag bunt single to second to start. Barnes blew away Marte but Sierra swiped second. Aguilar dropped a base hit to center to score Sierra but Cooper banged into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-1.

                                                                     Sox win

Hero of the Night is Hunter Renfroe. He was 3 for 4, scored a run and drove in the insurance run.

                                                       Renfroe The Hero

The Good:

JD Martinez was 2 for 4.

Rafael Devers was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Christian Arroyo was 1 for 3.

Josh Taylor tossed a full scoreless inning.

Adam Ottavino got the final two outs of the seventh inning.

Darwinzon Hernandez got the first two outs of the eighth inning.

Hiro Sawamura got the final out of the eighth inning.

The Bad:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4.

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Matt Barnes allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth.

The Ugly:

Kevin Plawecki was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

That was a gutsy win considering the Sox had to go up against Miami's best pitcher. Also its amazing how the Sox managers are coaching circles around Marlins manager Don Mattingly. First Donnie Baseball leaves in his starter to give up a 3 run bomb yesterday and today Will Venable had all the relievers lined up for the sixth inning on. If it wasn't for some costly errors, the game would have been a lot easier to navigate with Donnie asleep at the wheel. The offense wasn't much but they got hits when they had to, some days that's all you need. The win was also doubly important since the New York Yankees lost and the Tampa Bay Rays won. The Yankees offense just hasn't been there so far this season but the Rays pitching has been out of this world. The Sox need to catch fire again if they hope to leapfrog Tampa. The win improved the Sox to 32-20, a 1/2 game back of Tampa for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep their three game set with the Marlins tomorrow afternoon. Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3, 5.06 ERA) looks to snap a 3 game losing streak when he takes on Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Win Rain Shortened Dance With Marlins (5/28/21)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move the whole world saw coming. Sox brass finally puled the plug on the Franchy Cordero experience. Cordero was sent down to Worcester and Colten Brewer has been called up to take his place. With Danny Santana hitting more home runs in two days than Cordero has in 2 months, Cordero's days were numbered. Jarred Durran is currently trying out for the US Olympic team or else he'd be the one called up, either way its bye bye Cordero. He was hitting just .179 with a whopping 37 strikeouts. Bet the Red Sox miss Andrew Benintendi who's currently hitting .289 huh? The Sox better hope Josh Winckowski or the PTBNLs they're getting better turn out to be something because Cordero was a flat out dud.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                    IN

It was a great night for Boston sports. The Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their first round NBA playoff series and mother nature aided the Red Sox for the second time in 48 hours. After Wednesday's game was postponed for 3 hours, tonight's game against the Miami Marlins was called after the top of the sixth inning and pouring rain in Boston. The good news was the Sox were in the lead and got the cheap win. The Marlins struck first with a 2 run Jorge Alfaro home run but the Sox answered with a JD Martinez 2 run double. After Sox starter Martin Perez (3-2, 3.55 ERA) fired 5 innings of 2 run ball, Alex Verdugo hit the game winning 3 run bomb to put the Sox ahead. Adam Ottavino navigated through the top of the sixth inning for the "save" and when the umpires called the game at 10:48 PM, the Sox were 5-2 winners at Fenway Park.

                                                    Jayson Tatum approves of the win

Perez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jon Berti grounded out to first to start. Starling Marte doubled to center but Jesus Aguilar grounded out to second. Garrett Cooper struck out swinging to end the inning. Poteet got the ball in the bottom of the first inning as Kike Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Alex Verdugo grounded out to second and JD Martinez popped up to second to end the inning.

The Marlins struck first in the top of the second as Corey Dickerson singled to left to start and Jorge Alfaro effortlessly launched his first home run of the season into the Charles River to put the Marlins on top. Isan Diaz grounded out to second and old buddy Sandy Leon singled to right. Jose Devers forced Leon at second and Berti took strike three to end the inning with Miami up 2-0.

                                                          Alfaro goes yard

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to begin. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Danny Santana reached on an error by Jose Devers. Christian Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Perez cruised in the top of the third as Marte took strike three to start. Aguilar took strike three and Cooper flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Marwin Gonzalez popped up to second to start. Renfroe doubled to left and Hernandez walked, but Verdugo flied out to left. Martinez stepped up with a double to center to score both runners to tie the game. Bogaerts grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                 Martinez sings in the rain

Dickerson singled to right to begin the top of the fourth but Alfaro banged into a double play. Diaz grounded out to short to end the inning. Poteet cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Devers struck out swinging to begin. Santana struck out swinging and Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning.

Leon flied out to center to start the top of the fifth but Devers grounded out to first. Berti flied out to right to end the inning. For some ungodly reason that was it for Perez after just 71 pitches in 5 innings.

                                                   Perez pitches in the rain

The Sox looked to rally in the bottom of the fifth when somehow Gonzalez walked and Renfroe doubled to left. Hernandez popped up to first but Verdugo smashed a 3 run bomb to center to give the Sox the lead and chase Poteet. Anthony Bender came in and Martinez got a base hit to left. Bogaerts forced Martinez at second and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 5-2 Red Sox.

                                               "That ball is (censored) GONE!" - Verdugo

Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Martie flied out to center to start. Aguilar took strike three but Cooper walked. Cooper took second on a passed ball, Dickerson walked and Alfaro walked to load the bases. Somehow after throwing 12 of 13 balls, Diaz struck out swinging on 3 pitches to end the inning. In a near repeat of Wednesday night's game, the rain came and caused a long rain delay. At 10:48 PM with the rain not letting up, the umpires finally called the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.

                                                Sox win in the rain

Hero of the Night is Alex Verdugo. His 3 run home run won the game for the Sox.

                                                      Hero Verdugo

The Good:

JD Martinez was 2 for 3 with 2 rbis.

Marwin Gonzalez walked and scored a run in two plate appearances.

Hunter Renfroe was 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored.

Martin Perez got the win with 5 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 4.

Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless sixth inning to earn the "save".

The Bad:

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Danny Santana was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

Alex Cora got lucky tonight that mother nature intervened. Him pulling Perez after 71 pitches when he made Eduardo Rodriguez throw over 100 pitches last week is inexcusable. If the game wasn't called he was looking at his bullpen throwing 4 total innings when Perez could have kept going. As it is, Matt Barnes, Hiro Sawamura and Garrett Whitlock are now saved for the next game. The Sox showed some balls by tying the game in the third and Verdugo's blast was the difference in the game. If Cora says that he pulled Perez due to concern about getting hurt in the rain, that's totally understandable. Sox fans remember Dustin Hermanson and John Lackey getting hurt in games like this. But if it was "Well we thought Ottavino had a better chance in the sixth" he's playing with fire big time. It was a cheap ass win but we'll take it, especially since the New York Yankees lost on a walkoff home run to Robbie Grossman and the Detroit Tigers. The win improved the Sox to 31-20, 0.5 game behimd the idle Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to make it two in a row against the Marlins when Nathan Eovaldi (5-2, 4.39 ERA) takes on Marlins ace Trevor Rogers at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Off-Day News: Down on The Farm 3 (5/27/21)

With today being an off-day, its time to look at the Boston's Red Sox High A team the Greenville Drive. For some reason Greenville and Salem switched it up where Greenville is A+ and Salem is A-, but anyway Greenville plays at Flour Field and is currently 9-11 on the season. Here's a look at some of the prospects that could be headed to Boston in a few years.

                                                         Fluor Field

1. Kole Cottam

The 23 year old is the starting catcher for the Drive. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2018 draft and is currently hitting .256 with 2 home runs. With the surplus of catchers in the system such as Connor Wong, he's going to have to do better than hitting .250 to leapfrog the others.

2. "Boss" Christian Koss

The 23 year old shortstop made his name in the Cape Cod League while he was in college before being drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He came over in the trade for Yoan Aybar in the off-season and is currently hitting .210 with a home run. Whether or not he makes the majors is up in the air but at least any CCL fans will recognize him.

3. Nick Sogard

The 23 year old infielder came over in the Jeffrey Springs/Chris Mazza trade with Tampa and is currently hitting .269 with 4 home runs. He's the cousin of Eric Sogard and has an outside chance to make the majors someday. Sox GM Chaim Bloom remembered drafting him in Tampa and thinks highly of him.

4. Tyreque Reed

The 23 year old first basemen was picked up in the Rule 5 draft and has been Greenville's best hitter so far. He has 7 home runs and 22 rbis already and he had a reputation of having a power bat when he was playing in the Texas Rangers organization. If he continues to mash the ball the way he has, he could be in Portland sooner rather than later.

5. Tyler Espin

The 21 year old outfielder is the baby of the group and he's hitting .243 with just one home run. Unlike the others, he being only 21 gives him more time to go through some ups and downs. With the removal of the Lowell Spinners, the dregs of the minors get weeded out so hopefully he doesn't end up on the pile.

6. Tyler Dearden

The 23 year old outfielder is actually having a better start to the season than Reed. He's hitting .308 with 5 home runs and 15 rbis so far, forming a nice 1-2 punch with Tyreque. He could be in Portland by the end of the season if this keeps up.

7. Devlin Granberg

The 25 year old outfielder is the elder statesmen of this group. He's hitting .279 with 3 home runs and 12 rbis on the season. Usually 25 year olds in Single A is a bad sign but since Covid wiped out the 2020 season for the minor leagues, he and the others get a pass.

8. Cameron Cannon

The 23 year old infielder is leading the team in batting with a .321 average along with 4 homers and 12 rbis. He was drafted in the second round in 2019 and he's actually outperformed first round pick Nick Yorke so far. We'll see how he turns out.

9. Brandon Howlett

The 21 year old could be the hidden gem of the group. He was drafted out of high school in the 21st round in 2018 and is hitting .310 with 10 runs scored. Greenville has a good offense and he fits right in with the others.

10. Brayan Bello

The 22 year old is arguably Greenville's best pitcher so far. He's 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 4 starts this season. He's not actually listed in the Red Sox Top 60 prospects so he's quietly turning some heads. Hope he can continue his pace and guide Greenville to the post-season.

11. Jacob Wallace

The 22 year old was UConn's closer in 2019 before being drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He came over in the Kevin Pillar trade and has struggled in Greenville so far this season. He has struck out 9 in 8 innings but his ERA is 11.25. Like with everyone, his 2020 season was wiped out so he may need time to get acclimated. Sox GM Chaim Bloom had his pick to take anyone in the lower levels and he picked Wallace, he must have seen something in him.

12. Zach Bryant

The 22 year old came over in the Josh Osich trade and has struggled so far this season as well. He has struck out 12 batters in 9 innings but his ERA is 7.00. Just like Wallace, he may need time to get acclimated and its unfair to judge someone fully after not pitching for a year.

13. Jay Groome

The 22 year old has had a miserable career after being taken 12th overall in the 2016 draft. He's had Tommy John surgery, a bevy of other injuries and Covid wiping out last year to delay his development. He's just coming back from TJ and he's 0-2 with a 10,64 ERA. As with the other pitchers, its unfair to read too much into his stats after 20 games so we'll see if he can bounce back.

The Drive appear to be a team that can slug their way out of jams but don't have the pitching to compensate. The season is only 20 games old so we'll see what happens from here. Pay attention to the men on offense because some of them could reach Worcester or the majors someday. That about wraps up our look into the Greenville Drive, the next off-day is June 7th so stay tuned for our look at the Salem Red Sox.