That was one of the worst games of the season for the Boston Red Sox but the good news was at least they won it. The Sox committed 3 errors, allowed 2 passed balls, gave up 8 runs and still did enough to win. The Sox broke out to a 5-0 lead over the Atlanta Braves thanks to 4 rbis from Rafael Devers only for Eduardo Rodriguez to leave after just 4 innings. Xander Bogaerts hit a home run of his own but 2 errors and 2 passed balls led to the Braves tying the game at 7-7. Just when it looked bleak, Alex Verdugo blasted a 3 run home run in the top of the eighth. Matt Barnes got tagged for a run in the ninth but still slammed the door on the win. The Sox inched closer to first place with a sloppy 10-8 victory over the Braves at Truist Park.
The Sox ambushed Davidson in the top of the first as Kike Hernandez led off with a base hit to center to start. Alex Verdugo ripped a singled to center and Hernandez moved to third on the fly ball to center by JD Martinez. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging but Rafael Devers smashed his 16th home run of the season to put the Sox on top, Hunter Renfroe went yard with his eighth home run for back to back jacks. Christian Vazquez took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Devers with the 3 run bomb
Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to open the top of the second and Rodriguez flied out to left. Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning. Dansby Swanson flied out to center to open the top of the second inning before Abraham Almonte took strike three. William Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third inning as Verdugo flied out to center to start. Martinez tripled into the left field corner and Bogaerts walked to chase Davidson. Sean Newcomb came in and Devers singled home Martinez to increase the lead. Renfroe walked to load the bases but Vazquez took strike three. Dalbec flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
The Braves fought back in the bottom of the third as Guillermo Heredia doubled to right to start. Newcomb dropped down a bunt and Vazquez dove on it before throwing it up in the air for an error to put runners at the corners. Acuna struck out swinging but Freeman lined a base hit to right to score Heredia. Albies popped up to first and Riley grounded out to second to end the inning with the Braves down 5-1.
Rodriguez struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Hernandez also went down hacking. Verdugo flied out to left to end the inning. The Braves struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Swanson doubled to left to start. Almonte doubled home Swanson but Contreras grounded out to third. Heredia took strike three and Ehire Adrianza pinch hit for Newcomb. Adrianza walked and Acuna cleared the bases with a double before taking third on the throw home. Freeman struck out swinging to end the inning but the Braves were back in it down 5-4. That was it for E-Rod who once again was hit hard for 4 runs in 4 innings.
Edgar Santana came in to pitch the top of the fifth and the Sox tagged him. Martinez struck out swinging but Bogaerts belted his 13th home run of the season to increase the lead. Devers doubled to right and Renfroe singled him home. The rally ended as Renfroe was thrown out trying to steal second and Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-4.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Albies grounded out to first to start. Riley grounded back to the mound and Swanson struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the sixth as Dalbec singled to left to start. Whitlock himself ripped a base hit to left but Hernandez popped up to third. Verdugo forced Whitlock at second and Martinez lined out to center to end the inning. Everything fell apart in the bottom of the sixth and it started when Whitlock walked Almonte to start. Contreras hit a routine grounder to Hernandez who threw himself on the ball and pretended to act hurt for an error. Heredia singled to right and Renfroe turned and threw the ball into the bullpen for an error to score Almonte. Old friend Pablo Sandoval pinch hit for Santana and walked to load the bases. Whitlock punched out Acuna but that was it for him. Darwinzon Hernandez came in and Vazquez allowed back to back passed balls to score Conteras and move the others into scoring position. Freeman scored Heredia to tie the game but Albies lined out to center to end the inning with the game tied 7-7. What a disaster.
Luke Jackson came in for the top of the seventh and Bogaerts struck out swinging to start. Devers whiffed and Renfroe grounded out to second to end the inning. Hiro Sawamura (3-0, 2.81 ERA) dominated the bottom of the seventh as Riley grounded out to short to start. Swanson grounded back to the mound and Almonte struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the eighth against former Sox prospect Chris Martin. Vazquez atoned for his bad defense with a base hit to left before Dalbec ripped a base hit to center. Marwin Gonzalez pinch hit for Sawamura and dropped down a bunt to move the runners along. Danny Santana pinch ran for Vazquez but Hernandez grounded out to second. All of a sudden Verdugo mashed his ninth home run of the season to put the Sox up for good. Martinez flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-7.
Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Kevin Plawecki taking over behind the plate. Conteras flied out to left to start and Heredia struck out swinging. Ender Inciarte pinch hit for Martin and took strike three to end the inning.
Josh Tomlin came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Bogaerts grounded out to third to start. Devers struck out swinging and Renfroe flied out to center to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Acuna lashed a base hit to center to start. Acuna stole second but Freeman struck out swinging. Albies popped up to short but Riley singled off the glove of Devers to score Acuna. Swanson took strike three to end the game. The Sox had hung on to win 10-8.
Hero of the Night is Alex Verdugo. His 3 run home run lifted the Sox to victory.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with 4 total rbis, 2 runs scored and a 3 run bomb.
Hunter Renfroe was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 total rbis and a home run.
Danny Santana scored a run as a pinch runner.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Marwin Gonzalez dropped down a bunt as a pinch hitter.
Hiro Sawamura got the win with a scoreless seventh inning.
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed 4 runs in 4 innings of work.
Garrett Whitlock was charged with 3 runs (1 earned) in 1 1/3 innings.
Matt Barnes got the save but allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 5 with an error and 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and the one hit was a home run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with an error, 2 passed balls and 2 strikeouts.
Darwinzon Hernandez allowed 2 inherited runners to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an ining.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Plawecki caught the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
That was not an instructional video to show the kids. This game was dirty, it was messy and it was a grindfest. Caught stealings, errors, passed balls, bad pitching, bad swings....this game was a disaster. The good news was the Red Sox won it. The Sox gagged leads of 5-0 and 7-4 but still found a way to win. Rodriguez is completely broken and the only reason he hasn't been taken out of the rotation is there's no help coming. Ryan Weber and Kyle Hart are batting practice in Worcester and Tanner Houck is still hurt. Whitlock got victimized by some really bad defense but only one run he was charged with was earned. The offense stepped up big today with homers from Devers, Renfroe, Bogaerts and the backbreaker by Verdugo. Verdugo will never be Mookie Betts but he's been fun to watch in the 120 games or so he's played since he got here. Dalbec had another multi-hit game and hopefully this is the start of him coming out of his funk. If he can get going, the Sox will have some pop in the bottom of the order. More bad news is the New York Yankees came back to beat the Toronto Blue Jays but the Tampa Bay Rays were blanked by the Chicago White Sox. The Rays announced Tyler Glasnow will be out 6-8 weeks with a partially torn UCL so hopefully he recovers soon. In the meantime the Sox better take advantage of the Rays losing their ace by getting back into first place while they can. The win improved the Sox to 41-27, 2 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox have another game in Atlanta tomorrow night and Garrett Richards (4-4, 4.09 ERA) gets the start against Ian Anderson of the Braves. The game begins at 7:20 PM at Truist Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment