It was a LONG night for the Boston Red Sox thanks to not one but two rain delays. After the first one delayed the start for a half hour, the Sox then proceeded to lay an ass whooping on the Kansas City Royals. Martin Perez (6-4, 4.04 ERA) held the Royals to just 2 runs after they made mincemeat out of Nick Pivetta and Garrett Richards the last few days. JD Martinez led the offensive charge with a 3 run home run and the red hot Hunter Renfroe added a dinger for good measure. The game was delayed for two hours but when play resumed, the bullpen once again was lights out. The B-Team ended up getting the last 11 outs without giving up a run. Brandon Workman, Darwinzon Hernandez, Josh Taylor and Matt Barnes slammed the door and the Sox won their 50th game of the season and sixth in a row 6-2 at Fenway Park.
Perez started strong in the top of the first inning as Whit Merrifield grounded out to second to start. Jorge Soler flied out to left and Carlos Santana lined out to center to end the inning. Minor cruised in the bottom of the first as Kike Hernandez grounded out to second to start. Alex Verdugo popped up to second and JD Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
The Royals struck first in the top of the second as Salvador Perez hit a home run all the way to Yugoslavia to start. Hunter Dozier struck out swinging, Ryan O'Hearn grounded out to second and Edward Olivares also grounded out to second to end the inning with the Royals up 1-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to start. Rafael Devers was plunked but Hunter Renfroe popped up to second. Christian Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning.
Perez cruised in the top of the third inning as Michael A Taylor grounded out to third to start. Hanser Alberto grounded out to first and Merrifield flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the third as Marwin Gonzalez singled to left to start. Michael Chavis flied out to left and Hernandez walked, but Verdugo forced Gonzalez at second. Martinez then smashed his 16th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Bogaerts singled to center and Devers doubled him to third, but Renfroe flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
Soler singled to center to start the top of the fourth but Santana banged into a double play. Perez singled in the hole at second but Dozier struck out swinging to end the inning. Vazquez popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Gonzalez doubled to left. Gonzalez was foolishly caught in a run down on a grounder to short by Chavis. Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning.
The Royals threatened in the top of the fifth when O'Hearn and Olivares stroked back to back singles to start. Taylor banged into a double play and Hernandez made a great diving catch to rob Alberto of a triple to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo singled to center to start. Martinez walked and Bogaerts singled home Verdugo to increase the lead. Devers beat out a double play ball and Renfroe did as well to score Martinez. Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Perez was finally chased in the top of the sixth when Merrifield doubled to start. Soler singled him to third and he scored when Santana beat out a double play ball. Even though he was only at 86 pitches, once again Sox manager Alex Cora pulled a starter way too early, yanking Perez after allowing 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings. Brandon Workman got Dozier to bang into a double play to end the inning but now the bullpen had to throw more than 3 innings AGAIN with the Sox ahead 5-2.
After the top of the sixth inning a wicked rainstorm hit Boston and delayed the game for TWO hours. At 11:30 PM play resumed and Richard Lovelady replaced Minor for the bottom of the sixth. Gonzalez grounded out to third, Chavis lined out to center and Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the top of the seventh and O'Hearn popped up to third to start. Olivares struck out swinging and Taylor grounded out to third to end the inning. Lovelady cruised in the bottom of the seventh as Verdugo struck out swinging to start. Martinez grounded back to the mound and damn near killed Lovelady in the process. Lovelady had to be carried out on a stretcher and Anthony Swarzak came in to pitch to Bogaerts. Xander lined out to left to end the inning.
Josh Taylor came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Alberto flied out to left to start. Merrifield lined out to center and Soler struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox hit the killshot in the bottom of the eighth although Devers grounded out to second to start. Renfroe then mashed his 12th home run of the season to ice the game. Vazquez popped up to second and Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 6-2.
It was no longer a save situation but Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the ninth. Santana flied out to center to start but Perez singled off the glove of Devers. Dozier struck out swinging and O'Hearn went down hacking to end the game. The Sox had won their sixth straight game, 6-2.
Hero of the Night is JD Martinez. His 3 run jack put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.
Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Martin Perez got the win with 5 1/3 innings of 2 run ball.
Brandon Workman got the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Josh Taylor pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored 2 runs.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox are rolling after six straight wins as both the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays are reeling. The Rays got crushed by the Washington Nationals and the LA Angels scored 7 runs in the top of the ninth to beat the Yankees. For all the talk from Yankee fans that the Red Sox would be in third place by June, it turns out Boston will be in first place heading into July. The Sox have done it with timely hitting and a lock down bullpen. Everyone with the exception of Matt Andriese has been a stopper and its the main reason by Cora yanks the starters early. It would be nice for the starters to go longer but the more guys Cora can trust to get outs, the more flexibility he has so the same guys don't get worn out. The Sox have played 81 games this season and have won 50 of them, who saw that coming after the first three games in April? Also for any Yankee fan that said the 9 game winning streak was fools gold, the Sox are 41-28 since that streak....not worldbeaters but not terrible either. The Sox still need to get Christian Arroyo and Chris Sale back from injuries, give Tanner Houck another shot and see if Jarren Duran is the real deal. That's all down the road. For now, the Sox and their fans should be happy that they end the month of June in first place. The win improved the Sox to 50-31, 3 games in front of the sliding Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to win their seventh in a row and sweep the Royals tomorrow afternoon when they send Nathan Eovaldi (8-4, 3.67 ERA) to the mound up against Kris Bubic of the Royals. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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