As for the game, holy mackerel what an epic beat down. The Sox have been in a tailspin for about a month now and they took their frustrations out on the Tampa Bay Rays. Their offense has been struggling for weeks and they put out a week's worth of offense in one game against the Rays. The bats pounded the Rays for TWENTY runs off of 19 hits. JD Martinez was 4 for 4, Hunter Renfroe was 3 for 5 and Xander Bogaerts hit a 3 run home run off catcher Francisco Mejia...yes you read that right. Meanwhile Nathan Eovaldi (10-7, 3.92 ERA) was outstanding, holding the Rays to one run in seven innings of work while striking out 10 batters. A huge rally in the ninth against Phillips Valdez made the final score a bit better but overall this was a straight demolition as the Sox won the game 20-8 at Fenway Park.
Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first inning and Brandon Lowe struck out swinging to start. Ji-Man Choi struck out swinging and Nelson Cruz flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox began the massacre against Josh Fleming in the bottom of the first as Kike Hernandez doubled to center to begin. Hunter Renfroe doubled down the right field line to score Hernandez and Bogaerts doubled into the gap in center to score Hunter. Rafael Devers grounded out to short to move Bogaerts to third and Xander scored on the base hit by JD Martinez to left. Kevin Plawecki banged into a double play to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-0.
Austin Meadows got a base hit to center to start the top of the second before moving to second on a wild pitch. Wander Franco popped up to third before Randy Arozarena struck out swinging. Joey Wendle struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as Marwin Gonzalez grounded out to third to start. Bobby Dalbec walked but Jarren Duran struck out swinging. Hernandez doubled to left and Renfroe doubled home both runners to ice the game. Bogaerts drew a walk but Devers grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Brett Phillips struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Francisco Mejia flied out to center. Lowe took strike three to end the inning. Martinez got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the third before moving to second on a Plawecki grounder to first. Gonzalez grounded to short to move Martinez to third and Dalbec was intentionally walked to put runners at the corners. Duran struck out swinging to end the inning.
Choi flied out to center to start the top of the fourth before Cruz grounded out to short. Meadows popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the fourth as Hernandez singled to center to start. Renfroe walked but Bogaerts struck out swinging. Devers ripped a double to left to score Hernandez and Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Plawecki walked home Renfroe and Gonzalez slapped a base hit to right to score Devers. Dalbec got a base hit to right to score Plawecki and Martinez to chase Fleming. Dietrich Enns came in to pitch and Duran moved the runners over with a grounder to first. Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 10-0.
Franco struck out swinging to open the top of the fifth but Arozarena doubled to left. Wendle grounded out to short and Phillips struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox were relentless in the bottom of the fifth although Renfroe popped up to first to start. Bogaerts and Devers drew back to back walks and Martinez singled to right to score Bogaerts. Plawecki flied out to center but Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Dalbec cleared the bases with a scintillating triple into the right field corner to increase the lead. Duran flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up two touchdowns 14-0.
The Rays struck back in the top of the sixth although Mejia grounded out to second to start. Lowe hit a home run all the way to New Mexico to cut the lead but Choi grounded out to third. Jordan Luplow pinch hit for Cruz and struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays up 14-1.
Hernandez lined out to right to start the bottom of the sixth before Renfroe popped up to second. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jonathan Arauz took over for Devers to give him the night off to start the top of the seventh and Meadows hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Franco walked but Arozarena struck out swinging and Wendle flied out to center to end the inning. That was it for Eovaldi who was outstanding by striking out 10 Rays while allowing just the solo shot to Lowe in 7 innings.
Arauz grounded out to third to start the bottom of the seventh but Martinez doubled to left. Plawecki struck out swinging and Gonzalez popped up to first to end the inning.
The bench emptied in the top of the eighth as Franchy Cordero took over for Hernandez, Connor Wong took over behind the plate and Yacksel Rios came in to pitch. Phillips and Mejia both grounded out to first and Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning. Mejia himself took over on the mound to take a beating in the bottom of the eighth with Mike Zunino coming in to catch. Dalbec was plunked and Duran ripped a base hit to right to move Dalbec to third but Cordero popped up to third in foul territory. Renfroe got a base hit to left to score Dalbec and Bogaerts pounded his 17th home run of the year to increase the lead. Arauz popped up to third but Martinez was plunked as well. Wong then hit a triple into the centerfield triangle and scored on the base hit to right by Gonzalez. Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 20-1.
All of a sudden the Rays sprang to life in the top of the ninth against Phillips Valdez as Choi singled to right to begin. Luplow walked, Choi took third on a wild pitch and Meadows walked to load the bases. Franco singled to right to score Choi but Arozarena struck out swinging. Wendle got abase hit to left and Phillips cleared the bases with a grand slam. Mejia grounded out to second but Zunino hit a home run all the way to Uranus to further cut the lead. Imagine if the Sox had been leading 7-1? Choi grounded out to second to end the game as the Sox had won it 20-8.
Hero of the Night is Nathan Eovaldi. He tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 10 Rays.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored.
Hunter Renfroe was 3 for 5 with a walk, 4 rbis and 3 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with 2 walks, 4 total rbis, 3 runs scored and a 3 run homer.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.
JD Martinez was 4 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 3 runs scored.
Connor Wong tripled and scored a run in his only at bat.
Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 5 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 5 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Yacksel Rios pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 2 at the plate.
Phillips Valdez allowed 7 runs in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Its only one game but the Sox took their frustrations out on the Rays big time. They've been in a slide since the All-Star break and for one night they made the Rays and their fans suffer for four hours. The Sox couldn't miss tonight and more importantly, Eovaldi looked damn good against a possible playoff opponent. The only drawback in the game was Valdez but relievers have off-nights all the time. He would have been pulled a lot sooner if the game was closer than what it was. The bats knocked around one of the best teams in the league and that's an encouraging sign moving forward. The only problem is usually when the Sox go off on a game like this, they have absolutely nothing for the next day. Hopefully that's not the case but don't be surprised if the Sox don't score more than 3 runs tomorrow. Their only hope to take the rubber game of this series is if Tanner Houck can pitch a shutout. The win improved the Sox to 66-50, 4 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. Houck (0-2) gets the ball up against rookie Drew Rasmussen of Tampa. The game begins at 4:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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