Oakland starter Cole Irvin got the ball in the top of the first inning and got the Sox to beat the ball in the dirt. Kike Hernandez grounded out to short, Alex Verdugo grounded out to second and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Richards got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Tony Kemp walked to start. Elvus Andrus was hit with a pitch but was doubled off first on a bullet hit to Hernandez by Matt Olson. Matt Chapman took strike three to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts singled to left to start the top of the second but Rafael Devers popped up to second. Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging and Christian Vazquez lined out to center to end the inning. Frank Schwindel pinch hit for Mitch Moreland who had to come out of the game and popped up to third to start. "Razor" Ramon Laureano grounded out to third but Sean Murphy singled to center. Seth Brown tripled to center to score Murphy to put the A's on top. Chad Pinder popped up to second to end the inning with the A's up 1-0.
A's go on top
Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to open the top of the third before Danny Santana popped up to first. Hernandez walked but Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Kemp grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third and Andrus grounded out to second. Olson singled to right and Chapman popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth as Martinez popped up to first to start. Kemp booted a ball by Bogaerts for an error and Devers singled to right. Murphy tried to pick Bogaerts off second but the ball went a hundred feet into centerfield to score Xander. Devers moved to third on he and scored on the Renfroe sac fly to give the Sox the lead. Vazquez singled to center but Dalbec forced him at second to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Bogaerts scores a run
Schwindel popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth before Laureano walked to start. Murphy flied out to left and Brown popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fifth as Santana grounded out to short to start. Hernandez walked, moved to second on the Verdugo grounder to second and scored on the base hit to left by Martinez. Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Pinder grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Kemp struck out swinging. Andrus walked but Olson popped up to third to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Devers lined out to second to start. Renfroe took strike three and Vazquez grounded out to short. Sox manager Alex Cora made a fatal mistake in the bottom of the sixth as Chapman singled to center to begin. Schwindel doubled home Chapman to cut the lead and Cora pulled Richards after just 92 pitches. The Sox were forced to go to the bullpen after just 12 outs AGAIN as Richards allowed 2 runs in 5 plus innings. Hiro Sawamura was summoned and Laureano grounded out to short. Murphy walked but Brown flied out to left. "Glassbones" Jed Lowrie pinch hit for Pinder and grounded out to short to end the inning with the A's down 3-2.
The Sox struck back in the top of the seventh inning as Dalbec struck out swinging to begin. Santana struck out swinging but Hernandez crushed his 10th home run of the season to increase the lead. Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Josh Taylor came in for the bottom of the seventh and Kemp grounded out to short to start. Andrus singled to left but was forced at second by Olson. Chapman singled to center but Schwindel struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yusmeiro Petit came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Martinez struck out swinging to start. Bogaerts singled to center but Devers struck out swinging. Renfroe flied out to center to end the inning. Because Matt Barnes and Garrett Whitlock were unavailable and Cora had to use Taylor and Sawamura already, Yacksel Rios came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Laureano popped up to first but Murphy singled to center. Brown doubled home Murphy and that was it for Rios. Darwinzon Hernandez came in and and Lowrie popped up to second. Brown moved to third on a passed ball but Kemp walked to put runners at the corners. Naturally Andrus singled to right to score Brown to tie the game. Olson flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Lou Trivino came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Vazquez took strike three. Marwin Gonzalez pinch hit for Dalbec and walked....but was thrown out trying to steal. Santana grounded out to short to end the inning. Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Chapman singled to right. Skye Bolt pinch hit for Schwindel and dropped down a bunt to move Chapman to second but Laureano struck out looking. Murphy grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sergio Romo took over for the top of the tenth with Santana starting at second base. Hernandez struck out swinging, Santana was thrown out trying to steal third and Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning. Brandon Workman came in for the bottom of the tenth and with Murphy starting at second. Brown was intentionally walked but Lowrie singled to right to load the bases with nobody out. Kemp tried a suicide squeeze bunt but popped up to Workman. Andrus lined out to left and Murphy tried for home. Martinez gunned it......OUT! Murphy was out to end the inning.
Verdugo started at second base to start the top of the eleventh but Martinez took strike three. Bogaerts flied out to right and Jake Diekman came in to pitch. Devers flied out to right to end the inning. Andrus started the bottom of the eleventh at second and Olson was intentionally walked. Bolt grounded out to second to move both runners over but Laureano flied out to left to end the inning,.
The Sox broke through in the top of the 12th inning with JB Wendelken on the mound and Devers starting at second. Renfroe popped up to third but Vazquez singled to left to put runners at the corners. Gonzalez ripped a base hit to left to score Devers with the go-ahead run. Santana flied out to left but Hernandez singled to center to score Vazquez with the insurance run. Verdugo grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.
Sox take the lead.
With Whitlock and Barnes unavailable and the entire bullpen taxed, Cora had no choice but to go with Matt Andriese to close out the bottom of the 12th with Laureano starting at second. Naturally Murphy beat out an infield single to short and Brown singled home Laureano. Lowrie doubled home Murphy to tie the game and Kemp scored Brown with a sac fly to end the game. Andriese allowed 3 runs without technically getting an out to lose the game 7-6 in 12 innings.
Jackass of the Night is Matt Andriese. He pissed away a 2 run lead by giving up 3 hits and 3 runs to lose the game.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 4 with 2 walks, a solo home run, 2 total rbis and 2 total runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Marwin Gonzalez was 1 for 1 with a walk and an rbi.
Hiro Sawamura tossed a scoreless sixth inning.
Josh Taylor pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Brandon Workman pitched two scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 6 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Danny Santana was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Yacksel Rios was charged with 2 runs in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run and threw out a runner at home.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored 2 runs.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Garrett Richards was knocked out in the sixth inning after allowing 2 runs in just 5 innings.
Darwinzon Hernandez allowed an inherited run to score in 2/3 of an inning but none of his own.
Final Thoughts:
That was one of the most frustrating losses of the season considering how hard the Sox fought until the final inning. Adam Ottavino and Brandon Workman got out of 3 serious jams to get to the 12th inning, the Sox bats had done nothing since the seventh inning until they rallied against Wendelken for two runs only for Andriese to melt AGAIN. The key to the game was Cora once again pulling Richards at the first sign of trouble in the sixth inning. The Sox had to go the rest of the game without Barnes and Whitlock and Cora had to put Rios, Darwinzon and Andriese into pressure situations. Needless to say they failed big time. Injuries to Tanner Houck and Eduard Bazardo killed pitching depth to the point Rios and Andriese still are on the roster. Hopefully Bazardo, Houck and Ryan Brasier will be back soon because the Sox wasted a golden chance to put the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees further into the hole. The Rays once again lost to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees lost to the New York Mets. Give a lot of credit to the A's for holding the Sox bats to just 6 hits through 11 innings and rallying in the bottom of the 12th. They're right there with the Houston Astros in the AL West so they need these games as much as the Red Sox. The Sox had a lot of things go their way in their eight game winning streak but pulling a starter early finally cost them. On a day when Whitlock and Barnes were available this might be a win but its clear Andriese needs to go when someone gets healthy. Hopefully this loss doesn't send them into a tailspin because they still have four games left until their next off-day. The loss dropped the Sox to 52-32, 4.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon in the final game against the A's when Nick Pivetta (6-3, 4.33 ERA) takes on James Kaprielian of Oakland. The game begins at 4:07 PM at Oakland Coliseum.
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