The bad news was the Boston Bruins lost Game 5 of their second round NHL playoff series with the New York Yankees but the good news was the Boston Red Sox defeated the Miami Marlins. In a makeup game against the Marlins, the Sox got outhit by the unrelenting Marlins offense. The Marlins had at least one baserunner in 8 of the 9 innings and had 12 hits and 5 walks. The problem was they couldn't hit well once they had men on base. Nick Pivetta got knocked out in the fourth inning and the patchwork Boston bullpen held the Marlins to just 1 run after that. The Boston bats pounded out 5 runs by the fourth inning but were shut out the rest of the way. Christian Arroyo knocked in 2 big runs and Alex Verdugo knocked in one as well. It was sloppy, it was a mess and the Marlins looked like they were going to break the game open at any time, but the Sox came out 5-3 winners at Fenway Park.
Pivetta got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jazz Chisholm Jr singled to left to start. Starling Marte singled to left but Jesus Aguilar popped up to first. Corey Dickerson struck out swinging and Garrett Cooper took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Thompson in the bottom of the first as Christian Arroyo grounded out to short to start. Alex Verdugo grounded out to short but Xander Bogaerts singled to left. Rafael Devers singled Bogaerts to third and Xander scored on a wild pitch to give the Sox the lead. Hunter Renfroe lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Adam Duvall popped up to third to start the top of the second and Isan Diaz struck out swinging. Jorge Alfaro walked and stole second, but Jon Berti took strike three to end the inning. Marwin Gonzlez grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the second but Kevin Plawecki walked. Kike Hernandez struck out swinging and Bobby Dalbec grounded into a force to end the inning.
Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to start the top of the third but Marte singled to left. Marte stole second and moved to third on a fly out to center by Aguilar. Dickerson flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the third when Arroyo pounded a ground rule double into the right field stands to start. Verdugo doubled to left to score Arroyo but Bogaerts flied out to center. Devers moved Verdugo to third with a fly ball to center but Renfroe grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
The Marlins struck back in the top of the fourth although Cooper flied out to center to start. Duvall doubled to left and stole third before Diaz walked. Alfaro singled to center and Hernandez booted it for an error to score Duvall and put runners at the corners. Berti banged into a double play to end the inning with the Marlins down 2-1.
Oops!
The Sox answered in the bottom of the fourth as Gonzalez grounded out to short to start. Plawecki and Hernandez both singled to right before moving over on a wild pitch. Dalbec struck out swinging but Arroyo got a base hit to right. Plawecki scored easily and Hernandez beat the throw home, only for Arroyo to take second on a bad throw by Alfaro. Verdugo singled home Arroyo and Bogaerts singled Alex to third, but Devers grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.
Pivetta couldn't get out of the top of the fifth as Chisholm Jr took strike three to start. Marte hit a home run all the way to the Azores and Aguilar singled to center. Dickerson popped up to third but Cooper walked to chase Pivetta after 92 pitches. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in and got Duvall to pop up to first to end the inning with the Marlins down 5-2.
Adam Cimber came in for the bottom of the fifth and Renfroe grounded out to second to start. Gonzalez got a base hit to center but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Plawecki struck out swinging to end the inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez came in for the top of the sixth and Diaz struck out swinging to start. Alfaro struck out swinging but Berti singled to right. Chisholm Jr was plunked and that was it for Hernandez. Hiro Sawamura came in and walked Marte to load the bases but Aguilar struck out swinging to end the inning.
Anthony Bender came in for the bottom of the sixth and Hernandez struck out swinging to begin. Dalbec flied out to left but Arroyo walked. Verdugo grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sawamura returned for the top of the seventh inning and Dickerson flied out to left to start. Cooper grounded out to second and Duvall struck out swinging to end the inning. This was the first inning the Marlins did not have a baserunner. John Curtiss came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Bogaerts grounded out to short to start. Devers lined out to right and Renfroe grounded out to short to end the inning.
Josh Taylor came in to pitch the top of the eighth and the leadoff man got on as usual when Diaz singled to center. Alfaro forced Diaz at second but Berti walked. Taylor struck out Chisholm Jr swinging and Sox manager Alex Cora brought in Adam Ottavino to pitch to Marte. Ottavino struck out Marte swinging to end the inning. Ross Detwiler came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and Gonzalez lined out to third to start. Plawecki struck out swinging but Hernandez walked. Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning.
Ottavino returned to close out the top of the ninth and disaster struck. Aguilar grounded out to third but Dickerson doubled to center. Cooper struck out swinging but Duvall singled Dickerson to third on an 0-2 count. Diaz then doubled home Dickerson on an 0-2 count to put the tying run at second. Alfaro grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox had held on to win it 5-3.
Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. His 2 run single was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Kevin Plawecki was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Garrett Whitlock retired the only man he faced.
Hiro Sawamura got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Nick Pivetta lasted just 4 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4.
Marwin Gonzalez was just 1 for 4.
Darwinzon Hernandez retired just two of the four men he faced.
Josh Taylor retired just two of the four men he faced.
Adam Ottavino allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings but earned his third save.
Final Thoughts:
That game was a lot harder than it should have been. The Marlins had men on base in every inning but couldn't get them in most of the time. Useless information but Colten Brewer accepted his demotion to Worcester so we may see him again at some point. Back to the game, it was a sloppy win but it still counts. Pivetta looked awful but the bullpen picked him up big time. The Marlins had the same disease the Red Sox have once men are on base, and it worked out for Boston's favor this time. Arroyo continues to be another one of those "How did Bloom do that?" finds along with Hiro Sawamura. That was Ottavino's first run allowed in almost a month and still locked down the final out. The Sox may not be good enough to win in October as currently constructed but the more they win, they may have an outside chance to get to the playoffs. The only problem is most of the bullpen is spent heading into tomorrow's showdown. Hopefully the bats will wake up and make the game a laughter so they won't be needed. The win improved the Sox to 37-23, 0.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow the Sox look for revenge when they welcome the Houston Astros to town for a three game set. Martin Perez (4-2, 3.09 ERA) looks for Boston's sixth win in a row when he faces last week's hero for Houston Framber Valdez. The game begins tomorrow night at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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