When the Boston Red Sox brought up Jarren Duran and Tanner Houck on July 16th, fans and brass alike wanted them to contribute and today both did at the same time. In Game 2 of today's doubleheader Houck tossed 4 innings of 1 run ball to keep the Toronto Blue Jays off the scoreboard. Duran hit a little league home run to put the Sox ahead enough to coast the rest of the game. Duran and Houck are a much needed shot in the arm that needs all the help they can get if they hope to win the division this year. After Houck left the A-Team of Garrett Whitlock (4-1, 1.26 ERA) and Matt Barnes slammed the door as the Sox took Game 2 by a score of 4-1 in 7 innings at Fenway Park.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and dominated. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr struck out swinging before Marcus Semien took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Matz in the bottom of the first as Kike Hernandez led off with a double to center. Rafael Devers lined a base hit to center to score Hernandez but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Xander Bogaerts singled to right but JD Martinez flied out to center. Hunter Renfroe flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Houck cruised in the top of the second inning as Bo Bichette lined out to third to start. Teoscar Hernandez grounded out to second and Lourdes Gurriel Jr struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as Alex Verdugo singled to right to begin. Kevin Plawecki ripped a base hit to left and both runners moved over on the Bobby Dalbec grounder to first. Jarren Duran hit a sac fly to right to score Verdugo and Hernandez walked. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Randal Grichuk flied out to right to start the top of the third but Santiago Espinal walked. Espinal swiped second but Reese McGuire struck out swinging. Springer struck out swinging again to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the third as Bogaerts struck out swinging to start. Martinez grounded out to second but Renfroe reached on a throwing error by Bichette. Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Jays struck back in the top of the fourth as Guerrero Jr doubled to left to start. Semien flied out to right but Guerrero took third on a passed ball. Bichette easily sliced a base hit to left to score Guerrero to cut the lead. Hernandez struck out swinging but Bichette stole second base. Gurriel Jr lined out to first to end the inning with the Jays down 2-1. That was it for Houck after just 75 pitches, didn't even get credit for the win either.
The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the fourth as Plawecki singled to right to start. Dalbec took strike three but Dalbec hit a shot into the centerfield triangle. Plawecki scored easily and Duran motored all the way around to try to score. Springer's bobble was just enough for Duran to beat the throw home for the little league home run. Hernandez singled to right and Devers doubled to left to chase Matz. Patrick Murphy came into pitch and Bogaerts was plunked. The rally ended as Martinez popped up to second and Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Grichuk singled off of him to start. Espinal banged into a double play and McGuire lined out to left to end the inning. The Sox blew yet another rally in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo walked to start. Plawecki singled to right but Dalbec struck out swinging. Kirby Snead came in to pitch to Duran and he grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Lock returned for the top of the sixth with Michael Chavis now playing for Devers. Springer popped up to second and Guerrero Jr grounded out to short, but Semien singled to left. Bichette singled in the hole at short but Hernandez grounded into a force to end the inning. Trent Thornton came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Hernandez popped up to second to start. Chavis tripled into the centerfield triangle but Bogaerts popped up to first. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the seventh and Gurriel Jr was plunked to start. Cavan Biggio pinch ran for Gurriel but Grichuk took strike three. Espinal banged into another double play to end the game. The Sox had won the game 4-1.
Sox win on a twin killing
Duran The Hero
Hero of the Night is Jarren Duran. He drove in a run with a sac fly then hit a little league home run to ice the game.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 3 with an rbi.
Michael Chavis tripled in his only at-bat.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Kevin Plawecki was 3 for 3 with a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.
Tanner Houck tossed 4 innings of 1 run ball and struck out seven batters.
Garrett Whitlock earned the win with 2 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes earned his 23rd save with a scoreless seventh inning.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
None
Final Thoughts:
There's a lot going on around the league these days with the trade deadline days away and so far the biggest splash was made by the New York Yankees. The Yankees traded four prospects (three in their top 20) to the Texas Rangers for slugger Joey Gallo which could help their offensive woes. As for the Sox, they're going to bank their hopes on Duran and Houck to take the next step. Duran is giving 2007 Jacoby Ellsbury vibes and hopefully Cora can let Houck off the hook to throw some real gutty innings. As for Red Sox trade rumors, how's this one? Apparently the Sox are in talks with the Washington Nationals for 37 year old Max Scherzer. The Sox can't rely on Martin Perez and Garrett Richards to take them deep into October and Sox GM Chaim Bloom knows it. It would be unfair to expect Chris Sale to come off Tommy John surgery like it never happened so the Sox needed another pitcher with post-season experience. Also there's a rumor the Sox are interested in former Sox prospect and Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo. The Sox need a Steve Pearce/Doug Mientkiewicz type of veteran bat and he fits the description perfectly. Whether or not the Sox can get Scherzer and Rizzo is up in the air but the Sox have a legitimate chance for October at this point. It would be sad to see some of the prospects Bloom carefully manuvered to acquire get traded, but it would be for a good cause if the Sox can blitz through the American League in August and September. The next few days are going to be interesting but the Sox need to keep on winning. Tomorrow night the Sox look to take 3 out of 4 from Toronto when Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 5.23 ERA) takes on Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Jays. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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