Before the game it was no surprise as the Boston Red Sox reinstated Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock from the Covid List and sent Colten Brewer back to Worcester. Nothing more to say about that.
As for the game, nothing like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The New York Yankees had lost to the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox were one out away against the Los Angeles Angels from gaining a game on them with their red hot closer on the mound. Unfortunately the only two guys in the lineup that could do damage, did just that against Barnes. Mike Trout slapped a single and Shohei Ohtani hit a home run around the Pesky Pole to turn a 5-4 Sox lead into a 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Angels at Fenway Park.
Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first and froze Jose Rojas for strike three to start. Mike Trout struck out swinging on a nasty splitter and Shohei Ohtani grounded into the shift to end the inning. Quintana got the ball in the bottom of the first and Michael Chavis struck out swinging to begin. Rafael Devers missed a home run by 5 feet down the right field line before striking out swinging and JD Martinez lined out to center to end the inning.
The Angels exploded in the top of the second as Anthony Rendon was plunked to start. Jared Walsh doubled to right and Taylor Ward singled to right to score Rendon. Jose Iglesias hit a grounder back to the mound and Eovaldi caught Walsh in a rundown, but Wade took third. Phil Gosselin doubled home Ward to increase the lead. Drew Butera singled home both runners to increase the lead. Rojas forced Butera at second but Trout walked. Ohtani struck out swinging to end the inning but the Angels led 4-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts whiffed badly to start. Hunter Renfroe also went down hacking and Bobby Dalbec popped up to second to end the inning.
Eovaldi recovered in the top of the third as Rendon flied out to right to start. Walsh grounded out to first and Ward flied out to right to end the inning on just 8 pitches. The Sox blew a comeback in the bottom of the third as Marwin Gonzalez singled to left to start. Kevin Plawecki singled to left and Jonathan Arauz hit a double into the left field corner. Gonzalez scored easily but for some reason Plawecki stopped at third when he easily could have come home. This proved fatal as Chavis struck out swinging and 4 pitches up in his eyes, Devers whiffed badly and Martinez popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.
\
Iglesias grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Gosselin singled to left. Butera took strike three and Rojas flied out to center to end the inning. Bogaerts grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth before Renfroe also grounded out to short. Dalbec flied out to center to end the inning.
Trout struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but Devers airmailed a throw to first on a grounder by Ohtani for an error. Rendon struck out swinging but Walsh doubled to left. Ohtani ran around third and Martinez' throw came in....OUT! Martinez gunned down Ohtani to end the inning. That was it for Eovaldi who had one bad inning and left after 5 innings with 4 runs allowed.
Inspired by JD's effort, the Sox stormed back in the bottom of the fifth as Gonzalez struck out swinging to start. Plawecki atoned for his baserunning gaffe by launching his first home run of the season onto Lansdowne Street to cut the lead in half. Arauz beat out an infield single to third and that was it for Quintana. Aaron Slegers came in and for whatever reason tried to pitch down on Chavis instead of up. Chavis lofted a sinker into left for a base hit and Devers atoned for his error by clobbering a 3 run bomb to right to give the Sox the lead. Martinez singled to center to chase Slegers and Steve Cishek got Bogaerts to bang into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-4.
Phillips Valdez came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Ward lined out to right to start. Iglesias was plunked but Arauz made a good play to rob Gosselin of a hit. Butera took strike three to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Renfroe popped up to second to begin. Dalbec struck out swinging and Gonzalez flied out to right to end the inning.
Josh Taylor came in to pitch the top of the seventh and somehow Rojas grounded out to first. Trout lined out to a running Martinez in left and Ohtani flied out to right to end the inning. Hunter Strickland came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Plawecki struck out swinging to start. Arauz took strike three but Chavis doubled past the diving Iglesias to chase Strickland. Tony Watson came in and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning.
Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate and Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Rendon took strike three but Walsh singled to left. Naturally Ottavino threw a wild pitch that moved Walsh to second and Ward walked. Walsh moved to third on a liner to right by Iglesias on a nice catch by Gonzalez. Sox manager Alex Cora didn't want to take any chances and sent in Matt Barnes for the four out save. Barnes got Gosselin swinging on a nasty knucklecurve to end the inning. Raisel Iglesias came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Martinez took strike three to start. Bogaerts grounded out to third and Renfroe flied out to left to end the inning.
Barnes returned to close out the top of the ninth and Kurt Suzuki pinch hit for Butera to begin. Suzuki grounded out to first and Rojas struck out swinging to put the Sox one out away from gaining a game on the Yankees. Naturally Trout blooped a base hit to center and Ohtani blasted a home run to outer space for Barnes' first blown save this season. Rendon popped up to first to end the inning but the Angels had beaten Barnes and taken a 6-5 lead.
Mike Mayers came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Alex Verdugo pinch hit for Dalbec. Verdugo did draw a walk but Gonzalez swung and missed at strike three 20 feet over his head. Vazquez walked to put the tying run in scoring position. Naturally Arauz and Chavis both struck out swinging to end the game. The Angels stole one 6-5.
Jackass of the Night is Matt Barnes. He served up the base hit and home run to cost the Sox the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo walked as a pinch hitter.
Kevin Plawecki was 2 for 3 with a home run.
Christian Vazquez walked in his only at-bat.
Jonathan Arauz was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Phillips Valdez tossed a scoreless sixth inning.
Josh Taylor tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Nathan Eovaldi was rocked for 4 runs in just 5 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Michael Chavis was 2 for 5 but earned a hat trick of three strikeouts, two of which in clutch situations.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a three run home run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Marwin Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Adam Ottavino only retired 2 of the 4 hitters he faced.
Final Thoughts:
This one hurts real bad considering the Yankees lost and their fans were chirping the Sox will be in second place within a week. To lose like this makes it even worse considering the ONLY two hitters the Angels have that could do damage both came up in the ninth. If it was anyone else, this game is over. On top of that, naturally for the Red Sox its Arauz and Chavis coming up with the game on the line. The Eovaldi having Dice K disease in the second inning and Plawecki not scoring on the Arauz double hurt but none of that would have mattered if Barnes got the job done. He didn't and the Sox deserved to lose. The Sox have big decisions coming up in the next 48 hours with Danny Santana and Kike Hernandez ready. Who gets called up and who leaves is anyone's guess but the Sox missed out on big momentum going into their off-day. The Sox return to action Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays down in Dunedin, Florida. Eduardo Rodriguez (5-1, 4.15 ERA) goes for the Sox against Captain TBD of the Jays. The game begins at 7:30 PM at TD Ballpark.
No comments:
Post a Comment