As for the game, what a game! In a microcosm of the season, the Red Sox had a 3-1 lead going into the ninth against the Texas Rangers but the Rangers rallied to tie the game against Matt Barnes. The Rangers scored the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth against Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock and the Sox looked dead when Christian Arroyo was thrown out at home in the bottom of the tenth. Rafael Devers saved the day with an rbi double and one inning later, Travis Shaw smashed a walkoff grand slam to give the Sox the victory to stay alive in the wild card race. It was a great ending at Fenway as the Sox beat the Rangers 8-4 in 11 innings at Fenway Park.
Nathan Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yonny Hernandez took strike three to start. Isiah Kiner grounded out to short and Adolis Garcia grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Kolby Allard got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to center to start. Kyle Schwarber walked but JD Martinez struck out swinging. Xander Bogaerts lined out to center to end the inning.
Nathaniel Lowe struck out looking to start the top of the second before DJ Peters struck out swinging. Jason Martin got a base hit to right but Nick Solak forced Martin at second to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers got a base hit to center to start. Hunter Renfroe lined out to center and Kevin Plawecki flied out to left, but Alex Verdugo belted his 12th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Andy Ibanez got a base hit to center to start the top of the third but Jose Trevino popped up to short. Hernandez got a base hit to left but Kiner banged into a double play to end the inning. Hernandez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Schwarber struck out swinging. Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
Garcia struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Lowe grounded out to first. Peters flied out to left to end the inning. Bogaerts walked to start the bottom of the fourth and Devers flied out to center. Renfroe forced Bogaerts at second but Plawecki popped up to second to end the inning.
The Rangers got a run back in the top of the fifth as Martin got a base hit to left to begin. Solak hit a routine grounder to Devers who threw his glove at the ball and tripped over his feet for an error. Ibanez dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over and Trevino hit a routine grounder to Bogaerts. Xander threw to first and Dalbec inexplicably tried to catch the ball barehanded for an error to score Martin. Hernandez hit a comebacker to the mound and Eovaldi came home to get Solak. Plawecki threw the ball away away trying to get Trevino at second but they nabbed Hernandez in a rundown for a double play to end the inning with the Rangers down 2-1. Cora won't be happy about two more errors committed.
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo got a base hit to center to start. Dalbec popped up to first but Hernandez walked. Schwarber struck out swinging and Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
Kiner grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth before Eovaldi struck out Garcia swinging. Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth although Bogaerts popped up to first to start. Devers' bunt attempt was snuffed out by Allard but Renfroe pounded his 23rd home run of the season to increase the lead. Plawecki popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
Eovaldi came back for one more inning in the top of the seventh as Peters grounded out to short to start. Martin struck out swinging and Solak grounded out to second to end the inning. Eovaldi was great, tossing 7 innings and allowing just the unearned run and 4 hits while striking out 7.
Josh Sborz came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Verdugo beat out a roller to short. Jarren Duran pinch hit for Dalbec but took strike three. Hernandez walked to chase Sborz and bring Brett Martin into the game. Schwarber singled to left to load the bases and Christian Arroyo made his return off the Injured List by running for Kyle. The rally ended as Martinez struck out swinging and Bogaerts grounded out to first to end the inning.
Travis Shaw came in for Duran and Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Ibnez grounded out to short but Trevino walked. Hernandez flied out to left but Kiner singled to center. Garcia flied out to left to end the inning. Devers grounded out to first to start the bottom of the eighth and Spencer Patton came in to pitch. Renfroe grounded out to third and Plawecki lined out to right to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the ninth with Christian Vazquez now behind the plate. Lowe singled off the glove of Shaw and Peters singled to right, but Martin struck out swinging. Solak got a base hit to left to load the bases and Ibanez hit a ground rule double into the bullpen to tie the game. That was it for Barnes as Garrett Whitlock came in to pitch and he struck out Trevino swinging to start. Hernandez was plunked to reload the bases but Kiner struck out swinging to end the game with the game tied 3-3.
Verdugo grounded out to first to start the bottom of the ninth and Shaw popped up to third. Hernandez walked to put the winning run on first but Arroyo forced Hernandez at second to end the inning.
The Rangers took command in the top of the tenth with Kiner starting at second to start. Garcia grounded out to short to move Kiner to third and Isiah scored on the base hit to left by Lowe. Peters took strike three and Martin struck out swinging to end the inning but the Rangers were up 4-3.
Things didn't look good with Dennis Santana now on the mound with Arroyo at second to start the bottom of the tenth. Martinez flied out to center to move Arroyo to third but Christian was thrown out at home on a grounder to short by Bogaerts. Down to their last strike...Devers doubled to right to score Bogaerts and tie the game. Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning witn the game tied 4-4.
Martin started the top of the eleventh at second but this time Solak popped up to first to start. Martin moved to third on a grounder to third by Ibanez and Trevino grounded out to second to end the inning. Renfroe started the bottom of the eleventh at second base and Vazquez dropped down a bunt. Santana threw wide of first and Vazquez was safe, forcing the Rangers to intentionally walk Verdugo to take their chances with Shaw. Shawn then belted a walkoff grand slam to end the game and win it for the Sox 8-4.
Hero of the Night is Travis Shaw. His walkoff grand slam won the game.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez walked 3 times in 5 plate appearances.
Kyle Schwarber was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Christian Vazquez scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 4 with a 2 run homer, a walk and two total runs scored.
Nathan Eovaldi tossed 7 innings of one run ball, allowing 4 hits and striking out 7.
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 1 at the plate.
JD Martinez was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 4.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Jarren Duran struck out as a pinch hitter.
Matt Barnes blew the save by allowing 2 runs in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run and he scored two runs.
Garrett Whitlock allowed an unearned run but earned the win with 2 2/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
Big win by the Sox considering the New York Yankees had already won and things were headed south real fast. Barnes blowing the lead, Whitlock allowing the run to score in the tenth and Arroyo getting thrown out at home looked like the Sox were headed for certain doom. Then Devers saved the day by tying the game and Shaw reintroduced himself to Boston with the walkoff grand slam. Chaim Bloom is going to look like a genius if Shaw and Schwarber pay off in the post-season if one or both become their Steve Pearce. Eovaldi tossed a hell of a game and its a shame Barnes blew the save because Nathan did so well, Whitlock's run was unearned so his ERA lowers to 1.64. Even though the Yankees are ahead right now, they're kicking themselves for leaving Whitlock unprotected in the Rule 5 draft for sure. All in all it was a great win and the Sox need to go on a nice win streak to get back in either first place or overtake the Yankees. They only have 36 games left in the season to make something happen. The win improved the Sox to 71-55, 2.5 games behind the Yankees for the first wild card. The Sox return to action tomorrow night as they welcome the Minnesota Twins to town. Tanner Houck gets the start for Boston against Griffin Jax of the Twins. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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