As for the game, the bad news was the Sox pitching staff was hammered for nine runs and 14 hits by the Minnesota Twins. Tanner Houck was knocked out in the fifth inning after allowing 3 runs. Martin Perez, Hiro Sawamura and Matt Barnes all got tagged for 6 runs as well. The good news was the Boston bats exploded for 11 runs off 11 hits to outscore the Twins. Travis Shaw and Kike Hernandez both hit home runs while Hunter Renfroe hit two of them. Alex Verdugo had 3 hits as well as the Sox survived a seventh and ninth inning meltdowns to win the game 11-9 at Fenway Park.
The Twins wasted no time getting to Houck in the top of the first as Max Kepler led off with a triple to right. Brent Rooker struck out swinging but Jorge Polanco singled to right to score Kepler. Josh Donaldson flied out to left and Luis Arraez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Twins up 1-0.
Griffin Jax got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez led off with a line out to right but Kyle Schwarber popped up to third. Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
Umpire Tom Haillon had to leave the game as Mitch Garver got a base hit to right to start the top of the second. Nick Gordon banged into a double play but Miguel Sano drew a walk. Jake Cave got a base hit in the hole at second but Kepler struck out swinging to end the inning. Rafael Devers struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and JD Martinez lined out to right. Alex Verdugo walked and took second on a wild pitch, but Hunter Renfroe was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to start.
Rooker took strike three to start the top of the third but Polanco lined out to right. Josh Donaldson singled to center but was thrown out at second by Verdugo trying to stretch a double to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Travis Shaw hit his eighth home run of the season to start. Christian Vazquez struck out swinging and Hernandez flied out to right but Schwarber walked. Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Twins struck again in the top of the fourth as Arraez singled to left to start. Garver struck out swinging but Gordon doubled to center. Sano ripped a base hit to center to score both runners but Cave took strike three. Kepler flied out to right to end the inning with the Twins up 3-1.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Devers walked to start. Martinez struck out swinging but Verdugo doubled to right. Renfroe then clubbed his 24th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Shaw struck out swinging and Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 4-3.
Rooker was hit with a pitch to start the top of the fifth and took second on a wild pitch. Polanco struck out swinging and Donaldson popped up to third....all of a sudden Sox manager Alex Cora came out of the dugout to a chorus of boos with Houck at just 90 pitches. That's right, once again he yanked a starter early as Houck couldn't get credit for the win. Josh Taylor came in and got Arraez to ground out to second to end the inning. Will Cora ever learn?
The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez hit a ground ball to third that was thrown away by Arraez to allow Kike to reach second on the hit/error. Schwarber lined out to first and Bogaerts popped up to first, but Devers hit a ground rule double into the right field stands to score Hernandez. Martinez walked and Verdugo doubled to center to score both runners. Renfroe put the exclamation point on the inning with a two run home run to increase the lead and chase Jax. Juan Minaya came in and walked both Shaw and Vazquez, but Hernandez forced Christian at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-3.
Martin Perez came in to get tagged in the top of the sixth as Garver doubled to right to start. Gordon grounded out to second to move Mitch to third and Garver scored on the grounder to short by Sano. Cave struck out swinging to end the inning with the Twins down 9-4.
Schwarber got a base hit in the hole at second to start the bottom of the sixth but Bogaerts flied out to right. Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Twins inched closer in the top of the seventh as Shaw booted a grounder by Kepler to start. Rooker forced Kepler at second but Polanco hit a home run all the way to Nebraska to cut the lead. That was it for Perez as Hiro Sawamura was brought in only to walk Donaldson. Arraez singled to left and a wild pitch moved both runners over. Garver struck out swinging but Gordon singled to center to score both runners. Sano grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Twins down 9-8. Cora pulling Houck early bit him again as the bullpen once again imploded.
Tyler Duffey came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Martinez grounded out to second to start. Verdugo singled to center but Renfroe struck out swinging. Shaw took strike three to end the inning.
Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Cave singled to center to start. Cave was thrown out at second trying to steal....but wait! Twins manager Rocco Baldelli challenged the call but it was upheld. Kepler flied out to left but Rooker drew a walk. Rob Refsnyder ran for Rooker but Polanco struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox got some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with Caleb Theilbar now on the mound. Vazquez got a base hit to center and Hernandez clocked his 16th home run of the season to increase the lead. Schwarber grounded out to short, Bogaerts hit one up the elevator shaft and Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-8.
Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth with Christian Arroyo now in left. Donaldson hit a home run all the way to the outer reaches of Siberia before Arraez walked on four pitches not even close. Garver walked and Sox manager Alex Cora pulled the plug on Barnes who imploded AGAIN. Hansel Robles came in and somehow struck out Gordon swinging. Sano struck out swinging and Cave lined out to second to end the game. The Sox had hung on to win 11-9.
Hero of the Night is Hunter Renfroe. He hit a three run bomb and a two run homer to put the Sox in front for good.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5 with a two run homer and 2 total runs scored.
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and two runs scored.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Josh Taylor retired the only man he faced.
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Hansel Robles earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 5.
Martin Perez was charged with 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Hiro Sawamura allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.
Matt Barnes allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Kyle Schwarber was just 1 for 4 but walked.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked, drove in a run and scored two runs.
Travis Shaw was 1 for 3 with a home run but struck out twice and committed an error that led to a run.
Tanner Houck allowed 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed 8 hits and struck out 6.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Arroyo played second base in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Thank goodness for the bats being hot tonight because the Sox pitching staff is in ruins. Alex Cora's constantly pulling starters early has Barnes, Sawamura, Ottavino and Garrett Whitlock on fumes and Martin Perez isn't good at all. All Cora had to do was let Houck finish the fifth and at least start the sixth, instead the Sox bullpen allows 6 runs in 4 innings and look spent. Robles saved the day but how long will he last until his arm falls off too? Pulling Houck, Chris Sale and others after 5 innings has the Sox looking up at the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. On the other side of the ball, the bats beat up the Twins and they needed each and every run scored. The Sox won't be able to outslug everyone the next month so the pitching HAS to improve or else they'll be missing the playoffs. When will enough be enough for Cora to stop pulling the starters? Barnes is finished as the closer so they may as well use Robles or Whitlock from here on. Its a shame all the bad news overshadowed the good because the bats did very well and they won the game. The win improved the Sox to 72-55, 2.5 games behind the Yankees for the first wild card spot. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Twins tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta takes the mound, taking on Bailey Ober of Minnesota. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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