Before the game the Boston Red Sox made the long awaited roster moves everyone's been calling for. Top pitching prospect Tanner Houck and 3rd ranked prospect Jaren Duran were called up from Worcester before tonight's game. Marwin Gonzalez was placed on the Injured List and Austin Brice was designated for assignment to make room for the kids. The Sox have a chance to win the AL East this season and its time to see what the kids are made of.
As for the game, THAT'S how you come out of the All-Star break. After last nights game was postponed due to a Covid outbreak within the New York Yankees, the Sox beat who was left in convincing fashion tonight. Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 5.19 ERA) tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings to keep the Yankees off the board. Tanner Houck tossed 3 scoreless innings and the Sox as a team allowed just 3 hits. Christian Arroyo cracked a 2 run home run and the Sox got 3 early runs against Yankee starter Jordan Montgomery. JD Martinez added a solo home run in the eighth inning and the Sox blanked the Yankees 4-0 at Yankee Stadium.
Montgomery got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Alex Verdugo popped up to short and JD Martinez flied out to right to end the inning. Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first and DJ LeMahieu lined a base hit to center to start. Giancarlo Stanton banged into a double play and Roughed Odor flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning as Xander Bogaerts walked to start. Rafael Devers doubled to center and Bogaerts scored on the Hunter Renfroe ground out to short. Christian Vazquez flied out to left but Christian Arroyo pounded his sixth home run of the year to increase the lead. Bobby Dalbec ripped a base hit to right but Hernandez popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Gary Sanchez walked to start the bottom of the second but Gleyber Torres flied out to right. Brett Gardner flied out to right and Chris Glittens grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the third as Verdugo grounded out to second to start. Martinez struck out swinging and Bogaerts grounded out to second to end the inning. Trey Amburgey struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Tim Locastro flied out to right. LeMahieu was frozen for strike three to end the inning.
Devers grounded out to first to start the top of the fourth before Renfroe struck out swinging. Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning. Rodriguez cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Stanton struck out swinging to start. Odor took strike three and Sanchez lined out to left to end the inning.
Arroyo lined out to right to start the top of the fifth before Dalbec struck out swinging. Hernandez walked and took second on a passed ball but Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. Rodriguez got in trouble in the bottom of the fifth as Torres struck out swinging to begin. Gardner struck out swinging but Glittens walked. Dalbec dropped a pop up by Amburgey to put Glittens at third but Locastro struck out swinging to end the inning.
Montgomery cruised in the top of the sixth as Martinez grounded back to the mound to start. Bogaerts flied out to right and Devers flied out to left to end the inning. The Yankees chased Rodriguez in the bottom of the sixth as LeMahieu grounded out to first to begin. Stanton went down hacking but Odor doubled to right. Once again Sox manager Alex Cora pulled a starter early at the first sign of trouble as Rodriguez was lifted after 97 pitches and just 14 outs. Hiro Sawamura came in to face Sanchez and Gary grounded out to short to end the inning. Rodriguez ended up pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings, good rebound for him.
Last nights scheduled starter, Domingo German, came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning. Renfroe grounded out to third and Vazquez lined out to center, but Arroyo doubled to left. Dalbec lined out to right to end the inning. Tanner Houck, called up from Worcester today, came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh. Torres grounded out to short before Gardner grounded out to first. Glittens walked and Greg Allen pinch hit for Amburgey. Allen effortlessly singled to right to put runners at the corners and Hoy Jun Park made his ML debut by pinch hitting for Locastro. Park grounded out to first to end the inning.
Justin Wilson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and the Sox tagged him. Hernandez grounded out to short to begin before Verdugo watched strike three go by. Martinez then blasted his 19th home run to right to increase the lead. Bogaerts popped up to first but grabbed his wrist as soon as the bat let go. Still, the Sox now led 4-0.
Houck returned for the bottom of the eighth and LeMahieu popped up to Verdugo to start. Stanton whiffed on a high fastball and Odor took strike three on the outside corner to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Devers flied out to the right field wall to start. Renfroe walked but Vazquez took strike three. Arroyo flied out to right to end the inning. Houck came back to close out the bottom of the ninth and Sanchez struck out swinging to start. Torres flied out to center and Gardner grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-0.
Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. His 2 run homer was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win tossing 5 2/3 shutout innings while allowing just 2 hits.
Hiro Sawamura got the final out of the sixth inning.
Tanner Houck earned the save with 3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and drove in a run.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 but committed an error and struck out.
Final Thoughts:
That was a straight demolition of the shorthanded Yankees. Eduardo Rodriguez tossed his best game in a while, Tanner Houck showed why he's a future stud and the Sox took advantage of the outmanned Yankees. 2 years ago when the Sox lost Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi and David Price to injury and last year when the Sox only had 2 starters until September, no one shed a tear for them. If Yankee fans want to cry about them being wiped out by injuries and Covid, turnabout is fair play. The Sox can bury the Yankees if they can take the next two games and at least 3 of 4 next weekend. Hopefully this can springboard Rodriguez back to being the ace he was 2 years ago because THAT'S the E-Rod they will need if they want to win the AL East. Unfortunately they didn't gain any ground because the Tampa Bay Rays pulled off a miracle comeback against the Atlanta Braves to beat them in extras. Jarren Duran is supposed to make his ML debut tomorrow against the Yankees and if he can give them speed and hit for average, they may have found their missing piece on offense to bring it all together. The win improved the Sox to 56-36, 1.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to pound another nail in the Yankees coffin when Nathan Eovaldi takes on Yankees ace Gerrit Cole at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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