Morgan got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kyle Schwarber struck out swinging to start. Suddenly Rafael Devers swung on a 3-0 count and hit his 31st home run of the season to put the Sox on top. JD Martinez struck out swinging and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Myles Straw walked to start. Straw stole second but Amed Rosario struck out swinging. Jose Ramirez hit one up the elevator shaft and Franmil Reyes popped up to first to end the inning.
Alex Verdugo walked to start the top of the second inning but Kevin Plawecki grounded into a double play. Bobby Dalbec then launched his 17th home run of the season to increase the lead but Jarren Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with Boston ahead 2-0.
Bradley Zimmer struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second inning before Bobby Bradley also went down hacking. Wilson Ramos grounded out to third to end the inning.
Jonathan Arauz popped up to third to start the top of the third before Schwarber flied out to left. Devers flied out to right to end the inning. Daniel Johnson walked to start the bottom of the third and Andres Gimenez was hit with a pitch, but Straw hit into a double play. Rosario grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox blew their chance to bust the game open in the top of the fourth against new pitcher Justin Garza. Martinez took strike three but Bogaerts got a base hit to right. Verdugo singled to center to move Xander to third but Plawecki struck out swinging. Verdugo stole second on the strikeout and Dalbec walked to load the bases. Duran walked to score Bogaerts and with a chance to break the game open....Arauz struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox only ahead 3-0.
Sox manager Alex Cora was so upset with Arauz leaving the bases loaded that he yanked him out of the game and put Yairo Munoz at second base to start the bottom of the fourth. Ramirez and Reyes drew back to back walks but Zimmer beat out a double play ball. Zimmer stole second but Bradley popped up to short. Ramos flied out to center to end the inning.
Trevor Stephan came in to pitch the top of the fifth inning and Schwarber walked to start. Devers lined out to center but Martinez doubled to center to score Schwarber. Bogaerts struck out swinging and Verdugo took strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Johnson flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Gimenez grounded out to short. Straw lined out to right to end the inning.
The Sox blew another chance to break the game open in the top of the sixth as Plawecki doubled to left to start. Dalbec struck out swinging but Duran got a base hit to center to move Plawecki to third. Duran swiped second and.....Munoz struck out swinging. Schwarber took strike three to end the inning. The failure to do damage cost the Sox the game in the bottom of the sixth although Rosario flied out to right to start. Ramirez then hit a home run all the way to Brazil before Reyes was plunked. Zimmer was plunked as well and that was it for Houck. His control went out the window in the sixth as he lasted 5 1/3 innings before being charged with 3 runs. Josh Taylor came in and Bradley grounded out to third to move both runners over. Ramos then got a two strike base hit to left to score both runners before Oscar Mercado pinch hit for Johnson. Mercado struck out swinging to end the inning but the Indians were back in it down 4-3.
Blake Parker came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Devers greeted him with his second home run of the day to increase the lead. Martinez got a base hit in the hole at second but Bogaerts took strike three. Verdugo forced Martinez at second but Ramos was hurt on the play, putting Austin Hedges behind the plate. Naturally the first thing he did was throw out Verdugo trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Hansel Robles came in to get tagged in the bottom of the seventh as Yu Chang pinch hit for Gimenez to start. Chang struck out swinging and Straw grounded out to first but Rosario singled to center. Ramirez doubled to center to score Rosario but Reyes took strike three to end the inning with the Indians down 5-4.
Ramirez drives in a run
Bryan Shaw came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Plawecki flied out to right to start. Dalbec flied out to center and Duran grounded out to second to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth although Zimmer struck out swinging to start. Bradley popped up to third but Hedges hit a home run all the way to Lake Michigan to tie the game. Davis fell apart as Mercado singled to center and Chang doubled him home. Matt Barnes came in to stop the bleeding and Straw singled in the hole at short to score Chang with the insurance run. All these runs came with two outs and Rosario grounded out to second to end the inning with the Indians up 7-5.
Emmanuel Chase came in to close out the top of the ninth as Sox manager Alex Cora sent Travis Shaw to pinch hit for Munoz. Shaw lined out to right, Schwarber struck out swinging and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. The Indians scored 7 runs in three innings to steal the game 7-5.
Jackass of the Night is Austin Davis. He got two outs then allowed 3 runs to lose the game.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with two home runs.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.
Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a stolen base.
The Bad:
Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Yairo Munoz struck out in his only at-bat.
Travis Shaw was 0 for 1 in his only at-bat.
Hansel Robles allowed a run in the seventh inning.
The Ugly:
Kyle Schwarber was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Kevin Plawecki was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Tanner Houck was charged with 3 runs in just 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just 1 hit but walked 4 and hit 3 batters.
Josh Taylor allowed an inherited runner to score in 2/3 of an inning.
Matt Barnes allowed an inherited runner to score in 1/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! This was a great chance for the Sox to bring some momentum into their showdown with the Tampa Bay Rays that would pretty much decide if the Sox should go for the AL East or the wild card with 30 games left in the season. The Sox had their chance to win today but the bullpen blew it. The trade deadline acquisitions both got hammered and it all goes back to Cora continuing to pull starters early. One of these days its going to haunt him when it counts and the way things are going, there may not be games that count by the end. The Sox can't afford to lose games to mediocre teams with the Rays and the New York Yankees in front of them, especially since the Yankees are definitely not as formidable as recent years. There were some bright spots such as Dalbec playing with a fire under his ass now that Schwarber and Shaw are here. Still, the Sox losing a game like this leaves a bad taste in the fans mouth heading into a very important series that may decide the division. The loss dropped the Sox to 75-57, 2 games behind the Yankees for the first wild card spot. Tomorrow night the Sox head to Tampa with a big showdown with the Rays. Nick Pivetta (9-6) takes on Luis Patino of the Rays. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Tropicana Field.
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