The bad news was without JD Martinez the Sox bats were held to just two runs in 8 innings giving a grand total of just two runs in 15 innings. The Good news was Tanner Houck and the Boston Red Sox bullpen held the high powered Toronto Blue Jays to just 1 run to squeak out a win against them. Houck was called up from Worcester and tossed 3 shutout innings before Sox manager Alex Cora AGAIN pulled a starter early. Josh Taylor relieved Houck and gave up an rbi single to Breyvic Valera to put the Jays on top. Alex Verdugo tied the game with a home run in the sixth and the Sox took the game to extra innings. Jonathan Arauz got the rbi single in the top of the eighth and Adam Ottavino slammed the door in the bottom of the eighth. It wasn't pretty but the Sox won the game 2-1 in 8 innings at the Skydome.
Jose Berrios got the ball to start the top of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to right to start. Alex Verdugo got a base hit to right but Xander Bogaerts flied out to right. Rafael Devers flied out to center to end the inning. Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and George Springer struck out swinging to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr beat out a roller to third but Marcus Semien whiffed. Bo Bichette went down hacking to end the inning.
Hunter Renfroe grounded out to first to open the top of the second but Marwin Gonzalez struck out swinging. Christian Vazquez grounded out to first to end the inning. Teoscar Hernandez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second but Corey Dickerson doubled to right. Randal Grichuk walked but Breyvic Valera lined out to center. Reese McGuire lined out to third to end the inning.
Franchy Cordero flied out to left to start the top of the third before Jonathan Arauz grounded out to second. Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning. Houck cruised in the bottom of the third as Springer grounded out to third to open. Guerrero Jr grounded out to third and Semien struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fourth as Verdugo singled in the hole at second to begin. Bogaerts and Devers both flied out to right but Renfroe got a base hit to right. Gonzalez took strike three to end the inning. The Jays struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Bichette singled to left to start. Bichette moved to second as Hernandez grounded out to third before Dickerson was intentionally walked. Grichuk took strike three but for some reason Sox manager Alex Cora pulled Houck. Houck was in trouble but had only thrown 74 pitches to get 11 outs. Josh Taylor came in and immediately Valera singled to center to score Bichette. McGuire struck out swinging to end the inning with the Jays up 1-0.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fifth as Vazquez struck out swinging to start. Cordero struck out swinging and Arauz grounded out to first to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Springer struck out swinging to start. Guerrero Jr struck out swinging but Semien hit a ground rule double down the left field line. Bichette struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox fought back in the top of the sixth as Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Verdugo then launched his 11th home run of the season to tie the game. Bogaerts struck out swinging but Devers doubled off the glove of Guerrero into left field. Renfroe grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Lock returned for the bottom of the sixth and Hernandez grounded out to first to start. Dickerson singled in the hole at second but Grichuk lined out to right. Valera popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the seventh with Trevor Richards now on the mound. Gonzalez walked and Vazquez singled to left, but Gonzalez got picked off while Vazquez moved to second. Cordero struck out swinging and Vazquez was thrown out trying to steal third to end the inning. Matt Barnes looked for redemption in the bottom of the seventh and McGuire grounded out to first to start. Springer struck out swinging and Guerrero Jr flied out to center to end the inning. Good work Barnes.
Adam Cimber came in to pitch the top of the eighth with Cordero starting at second. Arauz got a clutch base hit up the middle to score Cordero with the go-ahead run. Hernandez lined out to right and Verdugo popped up to second but Bogaerts singled to right to move Arauz to third. Brad Hand came in to pitch and Devers grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Guerrero Jr starting at second. Guerrero moved to third on the fly out to right by Semien but Ottavino got a big out when Bichette grounded out to second. Hernandez struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Jonathan Arauz. His clutch rbi single in the 8th inning won the game for the Sox.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 4 with a home run.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 3.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3.
Tanner Houck allowed a run in 3 2/3 innings.
Garrett Whitlock tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes got the win with a scoreless seventh inning.
Adam Ottavino got the save with a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4.
Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Josh Taylor allowed an inherited runner to score in 1/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
Once again the Sox offense was cold without JD Martinez but the pitching held up. Good to see Barnes bounce back just hours after serving up the game winning home run in Game 1. Houck looked good but was pulled too early and Cora paid for it again when Taylor gave up the lead. How sad is it the Sox only scored two runs in 15 innings and one of them was driven in by the guy brought up just for the game? Bogaerts, Devers and Renfroe did almost nothing in today's doubleheader. The offense hasn't looked right in weeks but the bullpen got the job done. How much longer can this continue? Especially against an offense like Toronto who's due to bust out. Still, getting a win by hook or crook is important with 49 games left in the season and the Sox looking up at the Tampa Bay Rays. The win improved the Sox to 65-48, 3 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Jays tomorrow afternoon when Garrett Richards gets the start for Boston against Hyun-Jin Ryu of Toronto. The game begins at 1:05 PM at the Skydome.
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