Sale got the ball in the top of the first and old pal Brock "The Hitman" Holt led off with a pop up to third. Isiah Kiner sprinted for a double on a roller past Bogaerts but Adolis Garcia struck out swinging. DJ Peters also went down hacking to end the inning. Dunning got the ball in the bottom of the first and the Sox wasted no time getting to him as Kike Hernandez doubled to right. Rafael Devers lined out to right but a passed ball moved Hernandez to third before Kike scored on the double to left by Bogaerts. Kyle Schwarber singled to right to move Xander to third but JD Martinez popped up to right. Alex Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Jonah Heim led off the top of the second with a grounder to short but Yohel Pozo walked. Yonny Hernandez singled to right but Jason Martin struck out swinging. Andy Ibanez flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the second as Christian Vazquez doubled to right to start. Vazquez moved to third on the Jarren Duran grounder to third and Bobby Dalbec was hit with a pitch to put runners at the corners. Hernandez singled to right to score Vazquez but Devers popped up to third. Bogaerts forced Kike at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Holt grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Kiner took strike three. Garcia also took strike three to end the inning. Schwarber doubled to left to start the bottom of the third but Martinez lined out to first. Schwarber was foolishly picked off and Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning.
Peters grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Heim singled to center. Pozo singled to left to move Heim to third but Hernandez popped up a bunt that kept Jonah at third. The ball dropped and Pozo was forced at second as Martin lined out to left to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Vazquez grounded out to first to start. Duran lined out to short and Dalbec took strike three to end the inning.
Sale returned for one final inning in the top of the fifth as Ibanez got a base hit to center to start. Holt looked to have beat out a double play but the Sox challenged the call. Replays showed Brock was out and Kiner grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Sale had thrown 71 pitches and blanked the Rangers for 5 innings.
The Sox poured it on in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez grounded out to third to start. Devers flied out to center but Bogaerts blasted his 20th home run of the season to increase the lead. Schwarber walked, Martinez doubled to left and Verdugo doubled to center to score both runners. Dunning was pulled for Josh Sborz and Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
With a five run lead Sox manager Alex Cora told Sale to save it for his next start and brought in Hansel Robles for the top of the sixth. Garcia walked but Peters took strike three and Heim forced Adolis at second. Pozo grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the sixth as Duran doubled to right to start. Dalbec flied out to right to move Jarren to third and Duran scored on the Hernandez grounder to first. Devers lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Austin Davis came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Hernandez lined out to left to start. Martin flied out to left but Ibanez singled to left. Holt hit a little roller to third and Devers tagged out Ibanez trying to make it from first to end the inning. Jharel Cotton came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh as Bogaerts grounded out to short to start. Schwarber walked but Martinez struck out swinging. Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning.
Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Kiner grounded out to third to start. Garcia and Peters both struck out swinging to end the inning. Vazquez struck out swinging again to start the bottom of the eighth before Duran flied out to left. Dalbec walked but Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the ninth with Kevin Plawecki now behind the plate. Heim and Pozo both struck out swinging and Hernandez took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-0.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He tossed 5 innings of shutout ball allowing 5 hits and one walk while striking out 5.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 total rbis.
Kyle Schwarber was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Hansel Robles tossed a scoreless inning.
Austin Davis pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Hiro Sawamura pitched a scoreless inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch and walked.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Plawecki caught the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win and the Sox are going to need more of those if they hope to not only catch the New York Yankees but Tampa Bay Rays as well. The Sox were in a tailspin for the last month and have a lot of work to do, but Sale coming back helps. Hopefully next time Cora let's him go 7 innings because now they're down 4 relievers for tomorrow's game with Eduardo Rodriguez pitching. Schwarber has done a good job since he's been activated and the offense seems to be responding. If only Duran can keep hitting, he'd be the speedster the team hasn't truly has since Jacoby Ellsbury left. There's only 38 games left to figure every thing out so they better go on a nice winning streak soon. The win improved the Sox to 70-54, 1.5 games behind the Yankees for the first wild card slot. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rangers when they send Eduardo Rodriguez (9-6) to the mound to take on Jordan Lyles of Texas. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment