As for the game, that's more like it. The Sox showed life for the first time in weeks by pounding the Minnesota Twins on both sides of the ball. Chris Sale (3-0, 2.35) held the Twins to just two runs before leaving in the sixth inning. The trio of Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock, Garrett Richards and Matt Barnes slammed the door the rest of the way. Offensively the Sox got three home runs, two from Bobby Dalbec, to pace the offense. Dalbec drove in seven runs all by himself to outscore the Twins. Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo also drove in runs as the Sox won easily 11-2 at Fenway Park.
Sale got the ball in the ball in the top of the first and Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Brent Rooker walked but Josh Donaldson struck out swinging. Miguel Sano grounded out to short to end the inning. John Gant got the start for the Twins in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez grounded out to short to start. Kyle Schwarber walked but JD Martinez struck out swinging. Rafael Devers flied out to left to end the inning.
Luis Arraez grounded out to first to start the top of the second before Ryan Jeffers struck out swinging. Willians Astudillo lined out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Alex Verdugo walked to start. Christian Vazquez walked but Christian Arroyo forced Verdugo at third. Jarren Duran beat out a double play ball and Bobby Dalbec smashed his 15th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Hernandez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Sale managed to pitch an immaculate inning in the top of the third as Nick Gordon, Andrelton Simmons and Refsnyder all struck out swinging on 9 pitches to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Schwarber doubled to right to start. Martinez took strike three and Devers grounded out to first, but Verdugo lashed a base hit to center to score Schwarber with another run. Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Rooker struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Donaldson flied out to center. Sano struck out swinging to end the inning. Arroyo grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the fourth before Duran struck out swinging. Dalbec grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Twins struck back in the top of the fifth as Arraez grounded out to second to start. Jeffers got a base hit just to the side of Sale but Astudillo hit a home run all the way to Naples, Italy to cut the lead in half. Gordon flied out to left and Simmons flied out to left to end the inning with the Twins down 4-2.
Kyle Barraclough came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Hernandez beat out a roller to third to start. Schwarber walked but Martinez lined out to left. Devers stepped up with a base hit to right to score Hernandez with another run. Verdugo struck out swinging but Devers swiped second base. Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Refsnyder flied out to center to start the top of the sixth but Rooker walked. Donaldson was hit with a pitch and as usual Sox manager Alex Cora bounded out of the dugout to take out a pitcher at the first sign of trouble despite getting just 16 outs. Once again Sale was removed before going six full innings and forcing the bullpen to essentially toss 4 innings. He did well, allowing just 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings while striking out eight batters. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in and Sano struck out swinging before Arraez grounded out to second to end the inning.
Luckily the Sox put the game on ice in the bottom of the sixth with Edgar Garcia now on the mound. Arroyo was plunked and Duran got a base hit to left. A wild pitch moved both runners over and Dalbec ripped a base hit to center to score both runners. Hernandez and Schwarber walked to load the bases but Martinez banged into a double play, scoring Dalbec in the process. Devers capped off the inning with his 30th home run of the season to ice the game. Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-2.
Jeffers struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh before Astudillo grounded out to third. Gordon grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the seventh as Vazquez grounded out to first to start. Arroyo grounded out to second but Duran walked. Dalbec launched his second home run of the night to increase the lead and chase Garcia. Ralph Garza came in to catch Hernandez looking to end the inning with Boston ahead 12-2.
Garrett Richards came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Simmons got a base hit to left to start. Refsnyder flied out to right before Simmons took second on a grounder to third by Rooker. Donaldson and Sano both walked to load the bases but Arraez lined out to left to end the inning. Jake Cave took over in center and Astudillo himself took over on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Schwarber walked to start before taking second on a passed ball. Martinez grounded out to third and Devers flied out to left but Verdugo reached on an error by Gordon to put runners at the corners. Vazquez forced Verdugo at second to end the inning.
Schwarber moved to first with Dalbec taking over at third and Matt Barnes now on the mound for the top of the ninth. Kepler was plunked before moving to second on the Astudillo grounder back to the mound. Gordon struck out swinging but Simmons walked. A wild pitch moved both runners over but Refsnyder took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 12-2.
Hero of the Night is Bobby Dalbec. He stepped up with two home runs and 7 total rbis to outscore Minnesota by himself.
The Good:
Kyle Schwarber was 1 for 4 with four walks and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with a home run, a stolen base, 3 total rbis and a run scored.
Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with a walk and 3 runs scored.
Chris Sale got the win by tossing 5 1/3 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 2 hits while striking out 8.
Garrett Whitlock tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Garrett Richards tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored two runs.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and drove in a run.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The season may be going down the drain but that was a good win. The Twins are wretched and the Sox need to beat teams like this if they want to salvage what's left of the season. Chris Sale coming back healthy has been a nice spark and Kyle Schwarber finally ignited some offense. The problem is the bullpen is dead tired with a month still to go in the season the rotation has been cucka since the all-star break. Still, Dalbec stepped up tonight and maybe Schwarber being activated lit a fire under his ass. Beating up on the Twins is nothing special but every win counts. The win improved the Sox to 73-56, 3 games behind the New York Yankees for the first wild card spot. The Sox now travel to Cleveland for a set with the Indians. Eduardo Rodriguez (9-7) gets the start opposite Logan Allen of Cleveland. The game begins at 8:05 PM Eastern time at Progressive Field.
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