Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a bevy of roster moves. Alex Verdugo was removed from the paternity list and Kyle Schwarber was activated from the Injured List to make his Sox debut in tonight's game. Marwin Gonzalez was designated for assignment and Tanner Houck was sent back to Worcester to make room for Alex and Kyle. The Sox are desperate for offense and hopefully Schwarber cures their bottom of the order ailments.
As for the game, thanks goodness for the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox were reeling after dropping two out of three to the Tampa Bay Rays and they took their frustrations out on the hapless Baltimore Orioles. Nick Pivetta (9-5, 4.20 ERA) tossed 6 solid innings and holding the O's to just 1 run. Meanwhile the bats broke out against Spenser Watkins, scoring 8 runs and pounding out 11 hits. Kyle Schwarber scored two runs in his Sox debut while Bobby Dalbec, Xander Bogaerts and Hunter Renfroe all went yard for Boston. The Sox need to sweep the Orioles to climb back into the AL East race and they took the first game tonight 8-1 at Fenway Park.
Pivetta got the ball in the top of the first inning and Cedric Mullins singled to right to start. Anthony Santander struck out swinging but Mullins managed to take second on a grounder to Pivetta by Trey Mancini and made it to third on the throw to first. DJ Stewart walked but Austin Hays popped up to short to end the inning. Watkins got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez beat out a roller to third to start. Hernandez moved to second on the Alex Verdugo grounder to second and to third on the Xander Bogaerts fly ball to center. Rafael Devers flied out to left to end the inning.
Pedro Severino took strike three to start the top of the second before Maikel Franco grounded out to short. Jorge Mateo struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Hunter Renfroe got a base hit to right to start. Kyle Schwarber made his Red Sox debut with a walk and Kevin Plawecki singled to left to load the bases. Jarren Duran dumped a base hit to right to score Renfroe and reload the bases. Bobby Dalbec doubled to center to score Schwarber and Plawecki and Hernandez hit a sac fly to left to score Duran with another run. Dalbec moved to third on the Hernandez grounder to second bit Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
The O's got a run back in the top of the third inning as Richie Martin hit a home run all the way to Saudi Arabia to cut the lead. Mullins grounded out to second, Santander grounded out to short and Mancini also grounded out to short to end the inning with the O's down 4-1.
The Sox got the run right back in the bottom of the third as Devers grounded out to first to start. Renfroe took strike three but Schwarber and Plawecki drew back to back walks. Durran doubled to right to score Schwarber with another run. Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Stewart flied out to right to start the top of the fourth before Hays struck out swinging. Severino struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Hernandez lined out to third to start. Verdugo grounded out to first but Bogaerts smashed his 18th home run of the season to increase the lead. Devers grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
Franco singled in the hole at second to start the top of the fifth but Mateo lined out to center. Martin forced Franco at second and Mullins struck out swinging to end the inning. Dusten Knight came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Renfroe grounded out to third to start. Schwarber lined out to right but Plawecki flied out to left to end the inning.
Santander walked to start the top of the sixth but Mancini flied out to right. Stewart struck out swinging but the ball got away from Plawecki causing Santander to take second. Hays was frozen for strike three to end the inning and that was it for Pivetta. He had thrown 93 pitches and fired 6 solid innings allowing just the one run while striking out 8.
The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth although Duran grounded out to first to start. Dalbec belted his 12th home run of the season before Hernandez walked. Verdugo walked but Bogaerts flied out to left and Devers flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Garrett Richards came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Severino beat out a roller to Bogaerts to start. Franco struck out swinging, Mateo flied out to center and Martin grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox tagged new pitcher Cesar Valdez in the bottom of the seventh as Renfroe blasted his 20th home run of the season to wrap up the scoring. Schwarber struck out swinging but Plawecki singled in the hole at second. Duran struck out swinging but Dalbec doubled down the left field line. Hernandez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-1.
Mullins grounded back to the mound to start the top of the eighth but Santander seemed to have beaten out a grounder to second. The Sox challenged the call but it was upheld. Mancini flied out to center and Stewart hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. Ryan McKenna took over in center to begin the bottom of the eighth and Verdugo grounded out to second to start. Jonathan Arauz pinch hit for Bogaerts and struck out swinging before Devers grounded out to short to end the inning.
Richards returned to close out the top of the ninth as the news of Chris Sale making his return tomorrow afternoon hit. Hays struck out swinging but Severino got a base hit to left. Franco struck out swinging but Mateo doubled to left. Martin struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-1.
Hero of the Night is Jarren Duran. The rookie drove in the game's first run and drove in two runs total to eclipse Baltimore's entire offensive output.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Hunter Renfroe was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 total runs scored.
Kyle Schwarber walked twice in four plate appearances and scored two runs.
Kevin Plawecki was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 3 for 4 with 3 total rbis and a home run.
Nick Pivetta earned the win by allowing just 1 run in 6 innings while striking out 8.
Garrett Richards tossed 3 scoreless innings to earn the save.
The Bad:
Jonathan Arauz struck out as a pinch hitter.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.
Final Thoughts:
It figures the lowly Orioles were just the tonic the Sox needed to get back on track. Beating up on them doesn't prove anything but it will get the Sox some much needed wins as the season draws to a close with the Tampa Bay Rays in front of them and both the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees directly behind them. The encouraging sign was Pivetta pitching well even if it was against a glorified Triple A team. Schwarber introduced himself to the offense by getting on base and Duran getting a couple of hits was the best sign. If HE is able to get going he could be their next Jacoby Ellsbury. Remember Ellsbury essentially took Coco Crisp's job by the end of the 2007 season so if Duran were to supplant Hernandez out of the leadoff spot so Kike could be their sixth man like Brock Holt used to be, that would be ideal. But that's just all hypothetical and there's a lot of games left to be played. Still, a win is a win and it doesn't matter who its against. Just hope the Sox can take the next two games to hopefully gain ground on someone. The win improved the Sox to 67-51, 5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Orioles tomorrow night when the Sox send the O's a nasty surprise. Chris Sale is back and he makes his season debut tomorrow afternoon while Jorge Lopez gets the start for Baltimore. The game begins at 4:15 PM at Fenway Park.
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