Sale, Sox Bash Orioles (9/17/21)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Chris Sale and Matt Barnes were removed from the Covid List while Ryan Brasier was optioned to Worcester and Michael Feliz was designated for assignment. Brasier just hasn't looked good since he came off the Injured List while Feliz was just a stopgap until Sale was healthy again. Feliz may go to Worcester, he may not. Either way Barnes and Sale are back.

                                                                       IN

                                                                      OUT

As for the game, looks like Chris Sale (4-0, 2.40 ERA) is ready for an October run for the Boston Red Sox. The ace dominated the hapless Baltimore Orioles for five innings, surrendering one run to the O's. Meanwhile the Sox bats got to Baltimore starter Keegan Akin for two runs in the bottom of the second to go up for good. Bobby Dalbec hit a home run, JD Martinez drove in a run and Hunter Renfroe hit a bases loaded double to put the game out of reach. The Boston bullpen didn't allow a single run as Martin Perez slammed the door in the top of the ninth. The Sox needed to make a statement against a last place team and they did, beating the O's 7-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                         Julie Bowen approves of the win

Sale got the ball in the top of the first and Cedric Mullins led off with a base hit to center. Ryan Mountcastle grounded into a double play and Trey Mancini popped up to second to end the inning. Akin got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to center to start. Hunter Renfroe grounded out to short but Xander Bogaerts walked. Rafael Devers doubled to center but JD Martinez hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

The O's struck first in the top of the second when Austin Hays hit a home run all the way to South Dakota to put the O's on top. Ramon Urias struck out swinging, Pedro Severino flied out to right and Ryan McKenna grounded out to second to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.

                                                               Home run Hays

The Sox answered in the bottom of the second as Bobby Dalbec lined out to right to start. Christian Vazquez doubled off the Monster and Alex Verdugo singled in the hole at short to put runners at the corners. Jose Iglesias smacked a ground rule double down the right field line to score Vazquez and Hernandez hit a sac fly to center to score Verdugo. Renfroe pooped up to first to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.

                                                         Iglesias pounds a double

Pat Valaika grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Kelvin Gutierrez grounded back to the mound. Mullins grounded out to short to end the inning. Bogaerts grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third before Devers lined out to center. Martinez flied out to right to end the inning.

Mountcastle grounded out to short to begin the top of the fourth before Mancini grounded out to third. Hays lined out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Dalbec clocked his 23rd home run of the season to increase the lead. Vazquez grounded out to third but Verdugo singled in the hole at second. Iglesias walked but Hernandez grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.

 

                                                          Home run Dalbec

Sale returned for one final inning in the top of the fifth and Urias grounded out to short to start. Severino also grounded out to short but McKenna was hit by a pitch. Valaika flied out to left to end the inning. Sale didn't last long but held the O's to just 1 run off 2 hits in five strong innings.

                                                               Sale got it done

Renfroe walked to begin the bottom of the fifth and that was it for Akin. Marcos Diplan came in to pitch and Bogaerts struck out swinging to start. Renfoe took second on a wild pitch and took third on Devers' grounder to second. Martinez doubled to right to score Renfroe and Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.

                                                          Martinez drives in a run

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Gutierrez grounded out to second to start. Mullins grounded out to first and Mountcastle struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the sixth with Dusten Knight now on the mound. Vazquez and Verdugo stroked back to back base hits but Iglesias struck out swinging. Hernandez walked to load the bases and Renfroe cleared the bases with a double off the Monster. Eric Hanhold came in to pitch to Bogaerts and Xander forced Renfroe at third with a grounder back to the mound. A wild pitch moved Bogaerts to second but Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-1.

                                                        Renfroe breaks it open

Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Mancini flied out to center to start. Hays flied out to left but Urias singled in the hole at short. Severino struck out swinging to end the inning. Richie Martin came in for Urias with Spenser Watkins now on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Martinez grounded a base hit down the first base line to start and Dalbec walked. A wild pitch moved both runners over but Vazquez grounded out to short. Verdugo grounded out to short and Iglesias flied out to right to end the inning.

Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the eighth and McKenna walked to start. Valaika struck out swinging but Gutierrez got a base hit to right. Mullins popped up to third and Mountcastle struck out swinging to end the inning. Hernandez flied out to center to start the bottom of the eighth before Renfroe took strike three. Bogaerts got a base hit to left and Devers hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

Martin Perez came in to close out the top of the ninth and Mancini grounded out to third to start. Hays grounded out to first and Martin flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-1.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of The Night is Hunter Renfroe. His bases clearing double put the game out of reach.

                                                                Hunter Hero

The Good:

JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.

Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

Alex Verdugo was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

Jose Iglesias was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Chris Sale got the win by tossing 5 innings of one run ball allowing 2 hits and a hit batsmen.

Garrett Whitlock tossed a scoreless sixth inning.

Hiro Sawamura tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Martin Perez tossed a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

None

The Ugly:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3 but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.

Final Thoughts:

Another good win and badly needed with the season coming to a close. Almost every game is now must win with the AL East race all but locked up and the log jam for the wild card. Sale looked great for five innings and now he needs to be stretched out in case the Sox get to play in October. Renfroe had a big hit tonight and so did Martinez. If the Sox get good starting pitching they might pull this off. There's only 11 games left in the season with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees breathing down their neck. They need to make a stand now if they want to create some separation in the wild card run. The win improved the Sox to 84-65, 8.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and a half game ahead of the Yankees for the wild card. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Orioles and four wins straight tomorrow afternoon when Nick Pivetta takes on Zac Lowther of Baltimore. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Off-Day News (9/16/21)

On this day in Boston Red Sox Basebawful history:

1976 - Sox beat Brewers after big rally

1984 - Sox beat Yankees in season series finale

1990 - White Sox sweep Red Sox

1993 - Viola, Sox beat Yankees

2016 - Buchholz, Sox drop Yankees

2017 - Porcello, Sox shut down Rays

2018 - Sox hold off Mets

2020 - Marlins beat up Kickham, Sox

The Sox are back in action tomorrow night when they return home to face the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Sale (3-0) goes for the Sox against Keegan Akin of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Explode in 10th, Beat Mariners (9/15/21)

Well that was interesting. The Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners battled to a 3-3 tie from the third inning all the way to the end of the ninth. Hunter Renfroe hit a first inning home run against Marco Gonzalez and the Sox got two more runs in the top of the second. The Mariners rallied for three runs against Sox starter Tanner Houck in the bottom of the third and then it became a slog the rest of the game. Then in the tenth inning the Sox bats rallied for six runs against the Mariners bullpen highlighted by a two run Kyle Schwarber single and a two run Christian Vazquez double. Adam Ottavino (7-3, 3.68) continued his march to 10 relief wins and Martin Perez finished off the Mariners in the bottom of the tenth. The Sox needed a win to keep pace in the wild card race and they knocked off the Mariners 9-4 in 10 innings at T-Mobile Park.

                                                  Julia Styles approves of the win

Gonzalez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez grounded out to short to start. Hunter Renfroe launched his 28th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Xander Bogaerts flied out to left and Rafael Devers grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                     28th jack for Renfroe

Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and JP Crawford grounded out to second to start. Mitch Haniger lined out to right and Kyle Seager grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the second as JD Martinez flied out to right to start. Kyle Schwarber walked and Bobby Dalbec pounded a ground rule double into the stands. Kevin Plawecki grounded out to first to score Schwarber and Jose Iglesias smacked a double to center to score Dalbec. Hernandez lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                          Iglesias drives in a run

Ty France struck out swinging to open the bottom of the second before Abraham Toro grounded back to Houck. Jake Fraley grounded out to second to end the inning.

Gonzalez turned up the heat for the top of the third as Renfroe struck out swinging to start. Bogaerts and Devers also went down hacking to end the inning. The Mariners fought back in the bottom of the third as Luke Torrens struck out swinging to start. Jarred Kelenic got a base hit to center and Tom Murphy got a base hit to right. Kelenic tried for third and Renfroe threw the ball away for an error to score Jarred. Crawford walked and a wild pitch moved the runners over. Haniger lined out to short but Seager doubled to left to score both runners and tie the game. France whiffed to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.

                                                               Mariners tie it up

Martinez flied out to right to start the top of the fourth and Schwarber struck out swinging. Dalbec also went down hacking to end the inning. Toro struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before Fraley watched strike three go by. Torrens swung at air to end the inning.

Plawecki grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth but Iglesias drew a walk. Hernandez flied out to left and Renfroe flied out to right to end the inning. Dr. Quick Hook struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Kelenic got a base hit to center to start. Kelenic stole second but Murphy was rung up for strike three. Rather than let Houck finish the inning, Sox manager Alex Cora pulled him after just 4 1/3 innings forcing the bullpen to throw more than four innings AGAIN. Houck allowed 3 runs before getting the hook. Josh Taylor got Crawford to ground out to second but Kelenic moved to third. Haniger was intentionally walked and Seager grounded out to short to end the inning.

                                                    Another short outing for Houck

Bogaerts took strike three to start the top of the sixth before Devers grounded out to second. Martinez whiffed to end the inning. Garrett Richards came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and France lined a ball off of him for a single. Toro grounded into a double play and Fraley struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox blew a rally against Casey Sadler to start the top of the seventh as Schwarber flied out to right to start. Dalbec walked but Plawecki took strike three. Dalbec stole second and Iglesias beat out a roller to first to put runners at the corners. Paul Sewald came in to face Hernandez but Alex Verdugo pinch hit for him. Verdugo lined out to left to end the inning. Torrens singled in the hole at short to start the bottom of the seventh but Kelenic flied out to center. Dylan More pinch ran for Torrens and Murphy grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Renfroe grounded back to the mound to start the top of the eighth before Bogaerts took strike three. Devers walked and Martinez reached on catcher's interference. Schwarber flied out to center to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Crawford flied out to right to start. Devers threw a grounder by Haniger away for an error but Seager popped up to first. Sox manager Alex Cora wanted Adam Ottavino to face France and Adam struck him out swinging to end the inning.

Diego Castillo came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Dalbec went down hacking to start. Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Plawecki and struck out swinging as well. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Iglesias and popped up to short to end the inning. Jack Lopez took over for Shaw at second to start the bottom of the ninth and Toro popped up to short to start. Fraley lined out to short and Jake Bauers pinch hit for Moore. Bauers was hit with a pitch and stole second, but Kelenic struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox exploded in the top of the tenth with Erik Swanson on the mound and Lopez starting at second base. Verdugo got a base hit to left and Lopez scored on a passed ball, moving Verdugo to second. Renfroe walked and Bogaerts got a base hit to center to load the bases. Justus Sheffield came in to pitch to Devers and Rafael forced Verdugo at home. Martinez singled in the hole at short to score Renfroe and Schwarber got a base hit to right to score Bogaerts and Devers. Yohan Ramirez came in and Dalbec walked to once again re-load the bases. Vazquez doubled to right to Martinez and Schwarber to ice the game. Lopez struck out swinging and Verdugo flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-3.

                                                             Sox take the lead

Martin Perez came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Kelenic on second to start. Murphy struck out swinging but Kelenic took third on a balk. Crawford grounded out to short but Kelenic scored to cut the lead. Haniger struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-4 in 10 innings.

                                                           Sox win

Hero of The Night is Kyle Schwarber. His two run single put the game out of reach for Seattle.

                                                                Hero Schwarber

The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3.

Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.

Christian Vazquez was 1 for 2 with 2 rbis.

Jose Iglesias was 2 for 2 with a walk and an rbi.

Josh Taylor got the final two outs of the fifth inning.

Garrett Richards tossed 2 scoreless innings.

Austin Davis got the first two outs of the eighth inning.

Adam Ottavino got the win with 1 1/3 scoreles innings.

The Bad:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3.

Travis Shaw was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Tanner Houck allowed 3 runs in 4 1/3 innings off 4 hits and a walk.

Martin Perez allowed a run in an inning of work.

The Ugly:

Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but walked, hit a home run and scored two runs.

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but walked and scored a run.

JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.

Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Jack Lopez was 0 for 1 at the plate but scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

That was a huge win for the Sox to keep pace in the wild card chase with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. The Sox have just 14 games remaining and they need to win every game they can to make the playoffs. Its very unlikely they win the AL East but they're right in the thick of things in the wild card hunt. This win pushed the Mariners to four games behind them so they might be out of it. The Sox blew the game open in the 10th but hats off to the bullpen to keep the game tied to get to that point after Houck left the game. Once again Alex Cora pulled a starter too early but it worked out this time. The bullpen is going to have nothing left for October but they have to get there first. Its too bad Jose Iglesias is ineligible for the post-season roster because he's been a godsend since they got him back after eight years away. The Sox need to go on a win streak if they want to lock up October or else they may be on the outside looking in. The win improved the Sox to 83-65, 8 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Friday night when they return home to face the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Sale (3-0) goes for the Sox against Keegan Akin of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Late Rally Sinks Mariners (9/14/21)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Martin Perez was removed from the Covid List and Kaleb Ort was sent back to Worcester. The Sox need some quality starts from Perez if the Sox hope to make it to the playoffs.

                                                                           OUT

                                                                           IN

As mentioned in the past, this series against the Seattle Mariners is very important because they're right in the thick of things for the AL wild card. For five innings it looked like the Mariners were going to win their second straight when they took a 2-1 lead against Nathan Eovaldi. Bobby Dalbec tied the game up with a home run in the sixth and the Sox had a furious rally in the eighth. Kyle Schwarber hit a pinch hit bases loaded double and Alex Verdugo followed with a two run home run. JD Martinez drove in another run but the Mariners rallied in the ninth off Hiro Sawamura and Austin Davis. Davis struck out Kyle Seager to preserve the 8-4 win for the Sox at T-Mobile Park.

                                                      Josie Canseco approves of the win

Tyler Anderson got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Hunter Renfroe flied out to right and Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning. Eovaldi got the ball in the bottom of the first and JP Crawford got a base hit to right. Mitch Haniger, Kyle Seager and Ty France all struck out swinging in order to end the inning.

Rafael Devers got a base hit to center to start the top of the second before JD Martinez went down hacking. Bobby Dalbec flied out to left and Kevin Plawecki grounded out to short to end the inning. Abraham Toro hit one up the elevator shaft to start the bottom of the second before Jarred Kelenic flied out to left. Jake Fraley struck out swinging to end the inning.

Alex Verdugo grounded back to the mound to start the top of the third before Jose Iglesias popped up to short. Jake Bauers flied out to center to start the bottom of the third before Cal Raleigh struck out swinging. Crawford went down hacking to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth as Devers went down hacking to start but Martinez clobbered his 26th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Dalbec and Plawecki both grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                    Martinez puts Boston on top

The Mariners answered in the bottom of the fourth as Haniger got a base hit to left to start. Seager beat out a roller to third and France got a base hit to center to score Haniger. Toro hit a routine fly to Renfroe who dropped it for an error to load the bases. Kelenic struck out swinging but Fraley hit a sac fly to center to score Seager. Bauers watched strike three go by to end the inning but the Mariners were up 2-1.

                                                           Mariners take the lead

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Verdugo singled to right to start. Iglesias singled to left but Hernandez lined out to right to chase Anderson. Casey Sadler came in to pitch and Renfroe took strike three. Bogaerts forced Iglesias at second to end the inning. The Mariners threatened in the bottom of the fifth as Raleigh doubled to right to start. Crawford flied out to center and Haniger struck out swinging, but Seager was intentionally walked. A wild pitch moved both runners over but France grounded out to first to end the inning. Once again Sox manager Alex Cora pulled a starter early as Eovaldi was done after just five innings, allowing 2 runs off 5 hits and a walk.

                                                         Eovaldi didn't last long

Anthony Misiewicz came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Devers grounded out to first to start. Martinez struck out swinging but Dalbec cracked his 22nd home run of the season to tie the game. Plawecki lined one off the pitcher for a single but Verdugo flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                             Dalbec ties it

Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Toro grounded out to third to start. Kelenic took strike three and Fraley grounded out to short to end the inning.

Joe Smith came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Iglesias struck out swinging to start. Hernandez grounded out to short and Renfroe took strike three to end the inning. Luis Torrens pinch hit for Bauers to start the bottom of the seventh and popped up to right. Raleigh was frozen for strike three but Crawford walked. Hernandez was finished and Adam Ottavino came in to face Haniger. Mitch grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sox broke through in the top of the eighth as Bogaerts tripled into the right field corner to start. Drew Steckenrider came in to pitch to Devers and walked him. Martinez grounded out to third but Devers moved up to second. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Dalbec and walked to load the bases. Kyle Schwarber pinch hit for Plawecki and hit a gap shot into right field. Bogaerts and Devers scored easily but Shaw tried for home as well. Toro fired home but Raleigh couldn't field it for an error. Shaw was safe and Schwarber ended up on third. Christian Vazquez ran for Schwarber and Yohan Ramirez was brought in to face Verdugo. Alex stepped up by belting his 13th home run of the season to ice the game. Iglesias was hit with a pitch but Hernandez flied out to center. Iglesias moved to second on a wild pitch but Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-2.

                                                           Sox explode in the eighth

Michael Feliz came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Seager walked to start. France flied out to left and Toro banged into a double play to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the ninth with old pal Matt Andriese now on the mound. Bogaerts singled to right and Devers was hit with a pitch. Martinez got a base hit to center to score Bogaerts. Shaw hit one up the elevator shaft and Vazquez grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 8-2.

                                                   Martinez adds to the lead

Suddenly the Mariners woke up against Hiro Sawamura in the bottom of the ninth. Kelenc struck out swinging and Fraley hit a routine grounder to Bogaerts. He threw to first.....and Shaw dropped it for an error. Torrens and Raleigh hit back to back base hits to load the bases and Sox manager Alex Cora yanked Sawamura. Austin Davis came in and Crawford hit a sac fly to left to score Fraley, but now there were two outs. Haniger got a base hit to left to score Torrens and cut the lead in half. Seager struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-4.

                                                             Sox win

Hero of The Night is Kyle Schwarber. His pinch hit bases clearing double put the Sox up for good.

                                                        Hero Schwarber

The Good:

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.

Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk, a hit by pitch and a run scored.

JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a home run.

Kevin Plawecki was 1 for 3.

Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.

Jose Iglesias was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.

Nathan Eovaldi allowed 2 runs in 5 innings of work allowing 5 hits and a walk, he also struck out nine.

Darwinzon Hernandez tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Adam Ottavino got the win by getting the final out of the seventh inning.

Michael Feliz pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Hiro Sawamura allowed 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.

Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.

Travis Shaw walked and scored as a pinch hitter but committed an error.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 1 but scored a run as a pinch runner.

Austin Davis allowed 2 inherited runners to score but got the final two outs of the game.

Final Thoughts:

That was the most clutch pinch hit of the season so far by Schwarber. The Sox were in a tie game with the season hanging in the balance with every game remaining and Schwarber got the job done. Hats off to Verdugo too for the insurance home run and to both JD Martinez and Bobby Dalbec for driving in runs. Once again Cora pulled a starter early and if the Sox don't make the playoffs, the bullpen wearing down is the biggest reason why. Sawamura looked awful but he was out for weeks with Covid so maybe he just wasn't feeling well. If Cora let his starters pitch longer, maybe they wouldn't have to rely on the bullpen EVERY SINGLE GAME. Still, the bats got it done in this one and they needed the victory to keep pace with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. The win improved the Sox to 82-65, 9 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and tied with Toronto for the wild card. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Mariners tomorrow afternoon when Tanner Houck takes on Marco Gonzales of Seattle. The game begins at 4:05 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.

Mariners Rally Drops Sox (9/13/21)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a bevy of roster moves. Brandon Brennan was released by the Worcester Red Sox because Eduard Bazardo has been activated from the Injured List and sent to Worcester. Brad Peacock and Stephen Gonsalves were also sent down to Worcester as Austin Davis was returned from paternity leave and Hiro Sawamura was removed from the Covid List.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                          IN

As for the game, this was a bad loss for the Boston Red Sox. The Seattle Mariners are breathing down their neck for the wild card spot and the Sox dropped a big game to the M's. Eduardo Rodriguez and Logan Gilbert battled to 2-2 tie after 5 innings with Jose Iglesias driving in both runs. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Mitch Haniger hit a three run bomb off Ryan Brasier (0-1, 4.15 ERA) to put the Mariners on top. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers hit back to back home runs in the top of the eighth but couldn't complete the come back. The Mariners took this crucial game 5-4 at T-Mobile Park.

                                                    Ghoulish Tom Brady can't stand it

Gilbert got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez grounded out to first to start. Kyle Schwarber and Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning. The Mariners struck first in the bottom of the first as JP Crawford doubled down the left field line to start. Mitch Haniger got a base hit to left to move Crawford to third, and JP scored on the ground ball double play by Ty France. Kyle Seager grounded out to short to end the inning with the Mariners up 1-0.

                                               Double play scores a run

Rafael Devers struck out swinging to start the top of the second before JD Martinez walked. Alex Verdugo lined out to center and Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning. The Mariners struck again in the bottom of the second as Abraham Toro walked to start. Luis Torrens singled to right but Renfroe booted the ball for an error to put runners at the corners. Tom Murphy beat out a double play ball to score Toro and Jarred Kelenic took strike three. Dylan Moore struck out swinging to end the inning with the Mariners up 2-0.

                                                          Murphy drives in a run

The Sox struck back in the top of the third as Christian Vazquez popped up to short to start. Jose Iglesias smashed a home run to cut the lead in half but Hernandez flied out to left. Schwarber struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                              Home run Iglesias

Crawford struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third but Haniger got a base hit to left. France flied out to left and Seager struck out swinging to end the inning.

Bogaerts lined out to center to begin the top of the fourth before Devers struck out swinging. Martinez also went down hacking to end the inning. Toro took strike three to begin the bottom of the fourth before Torrens struck out swinging. Murphy popped up to short to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Verdugo got a base hit to right to start. Renfroe struck out swinging but Vazquez got a base hit to center. Iglesias blooped a base hit to right to score Verdugo to tie the game. Hernandez flied out to center to move Vazquez to third but Schwarber flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                   Another rbi for Iglesias
 

Kelenic flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Moore flied out to center. Crawford beat out a roller to Rodriguez and Haniger singled in the hole at short. France flied out to left to end the inning.

Bogaerts doubled to center to start the top of the sixth but Devers popped up to short. Bogaerts moved to third on a fly out to center by Martinez but Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning. Seager grounded out to first to start the bottom of the sixth before Toro flied out to center. Torrens grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Rodriguez who fired 6 strong innings while allowing just two runs on six hits and a walk.

                                                            Rodriguez pitched well

Diego Castillo came in to pitch the top of the seventh as Renfroe struck out swinging to start. Vazquez grounded out to first and Iglesias struck out swinging to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the seventh as Murphy flied out to center to start. Kelenic flied out to left and Jake Bauers pinch hit for Moore. Bauers hit a routine grounder to Schwarber....booted for an error. The inning continued and Crawford got a base hit to left. Naturally Haniger hit a home run all the way to Oregon to put the Mariners up for good. France singled to right to chase the ineffective Brasier. Austin Davis struck out Seager swinging to end the inning with the Mariners up 5-2.

                                                            Haniger puts Seattle ahead

The Sox did fight back in the top of the eighth with Paul Sewald on the mound. Hernandez struck out swinging and Schwarber took strike three, but Bogaerts hit his 21st home run of the season to cut the lead. Devers then belted his 34th home run of the year for back to back jacks. Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 5-4.

                                                    Bogaerts cuts the lead

Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Toro singled to right to start. Torrens flied out to right and Murphy walked. That was it for Ort as Josh Taylor came in to pitch. Kelenic struck out swinging and Bauers flied out to center to end the inning.

Drew Steckenrider came in to close out the top of the ninth and Verdugo struck out swinging to start. Renfroe earned the golden sombrero by taking strike three and Vazquez flied out to center to end the game. The Mariners had won it 5-4.

                                                                   Mariners win

Jackass of The Night is Ryan Brasier. He allowed the backbreaking 3 run home run in the seventh.

                                                "Yeah you're out, Jackass, now beat it!" 

The Good:

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a home run.

Jose Iglesias was 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 total rbis.

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched well allowing just 1 earned run (2 total) in 6 innings while allowing 6 hits and one walk. He also struck out six.

Austin Davis struck out the only man he faced.

Kaleb Ort got the first out of the eighth inning.

Josh Taylor got the final two outs of the eighth inning.

The Bad:

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Kyle Schwarber was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts and an error.

Hunter Renfroe earned the golden sombrero by going 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts and made an error.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.

JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4.

Final Thoughts:

The error by Schwarber might have been the difference in the game but Brasier still allowed a three run bomb two batters later. Renfroe and Schwarber were a combined 0 for 8 with 7 strikeouts and two errors, possibly their worst games of their careers. The good news is its only one game and there's quite a few to go. Rodriguez pitched well but the bats didn't do enough in this one. Brasier imploding didn't help and he was supposed to be the secret weapon with Hansel Robles and Davis to spell the battered A-Team. Mitch Haniger was a one man wrecking crew in this game and hopefully the Sox can shut him down in the next one. Its sad the Sox collapsed this hard since the end of June but you could see it coming after Sox manager Alex Cora rode the bullpen into the ground. The less said of this game, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 81-65, 9 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East and one game behind the Blue Jays for the wild card. If the season ended today, the Sox would be out. Luckily there are sixteen games left and the Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the Mariners. Nathan Eovaldi goes for the Sox against Tyler Anderson of Seattle. The game begins at 10:10 PM at T-Mobile Park.

White Sox Walkoff Red Sox (9/12/21)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Phillips Valdez was placed on the Covid List and Connor Seabold was sent back to Worcester. In their places Brad Peacock was brought back from Worcester and Nick Pivetta was activated from the Covid List.

                                                                          OUT

                                                                      IN

As for the game, if the BoSox don't make the playoffs, games like this one will be why. Once again Red Sox manager Alex Cora lifted a starter before the sixth inning was over, pulling Nick Pivetta after 5 2/3 with only one run allowed. The Red Sox bats could do nothing with White Sox starter Lance Lynn who only lasted five innings himself. Luis Robert Jr drove in a run against Pivetta and it looked like that would be the ballgame. Then in the top of the ninth the Red Sox had the bases loaded but all Alex Verdugo could do was bring in a run with a sac fly to tie the game. Then with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth, Leury Garcia hit a walkoff home run to win the game 2-1 for the White Sox at Comiskey Park.

                                                             Dammit

Lynn got the ball in the top of the first and Kike Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Kyle Schwarber popped up to short and Hunter Renfroe flied out to left to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Luis Robert Jr flied out to right. Yoan Moncada doubled to right but Jose Abreu took strike three. Eloy Jimenez grounded out to short to end the inning.

Rafael Devers struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Alex Verdugo flied out to center. Bobby Dalbec also flied out to center to end the inning. Yasmani Grandal got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the second before Leury Garcia grounded into a double play. Gavin Sheets struck out swinging to end the inning.

Travis Shaw struck out swinging to begin the top of the third before Kevin Plawecki also went down hacking. Jose Iglesias reached first on a swinging bunt but Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning. Cesar Hernandez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Seby Zavala flied out to left. Robert Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.

Schwarber struck out swinging to begin the top of the fourth before Renfroe flied out to left. Devers took strike three to end the inning. Moncada grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fourth before Abreu lined out to center. Jimenez took strike three to end the inning.

Verdugo struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Dalbec went down hacking. Shaw singled to center but Plawecki popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning. Grandal lined out to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Garcia grounded out to third. Sheets grounded out to short to end the inning.

Garrett Crochet came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Iglesias got a base hit to center to start. Hernandez hit a pop up to right that was caught at the shoestrings and Iglesias was thrown out at second trying to tag up. Schwarber struck out swinging to end the inning. The ChiSox struck first in the bottom of the sixth as Hernandez singled in the hole at second. Zavala dropped a bunt down to move Hernandez to second and Robert got a base hit to left to score Hernandez. At just 79 pitches, Cora ran out of the dugout to pull Pivetta after 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just 4 hits but apparently that wasn't good enough for Cora. Adam Ottavino came in and Moncada flied out to left. Abreu was intentionally walked but Jimenez was frozen for strike three to end the inning with Chicago up 1-0.

                                                  Pivetta deserved better

Renfroe struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh before Devers walked. Verdugo flied out to center and that was it by Crochet. Jose Ruiz got Dalbec to ground into a force to end the inning. Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh as Grandal walked to begin. Garcia lined out to right and Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Sheets, only to take strike three. Hernandez forced Grandal at second to end the inning.

Shaw flied out to center to start the top of the eighth and Xander Bogaerts pinch hit for Plawecki. Bogaerts grounded out to second and Iglesias grounded out to short to end the inning. Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate with Hansel Robles down on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Zavala took strike three before Robert Jr walked. Moncada popped up to second and Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox rallied against Craig Kimbrell in the top of the ninth as Hernandez doubled to center to start. Schwarber struck out swinging but both Renfroe and Devers walked to load the bases. With a chance to put the Sox ahead....Verdugo flied out to left although Hernandez scored to tie the game. Also with a chance to put the Sox ahead.....Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                           Verdugo ties it up

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Jimenez struck out swinging to begin. Grandal went down hacking and Whitlock had Garcia down 0-2. Rather than throw it in the dirt, Whitlock threw a straight fastball Garcia hit a mile to end the game. The White Sox had won it 2-1.

                                                          White Sox win

Jackass of The Night is Garett Whitlock. How do you give up a home run on an 0-2 count? Throw it in the dirt!

                                                             Jackass Whitlock

The Good:

Rafael Devers walked twice in four plate appearances.

Travis Shaw was 1 for 3.

Jose Iglesias was 2 for 3.

Nick Pivetta tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed just 1 run on 4 hits.

Adam Ottavino got the final two outs of the sixth inning.

Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Kyle Schwarber was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 1 at the plate.

The Ugly:

Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Honorable Mention:

Christian Vazquez caught the bottom of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

What a waste of a game. The Boston bats got only 4 hits the entire game so this loss is on them for sure, but Sox manager Alex Cora developed a really bad habit this season. Cora pulled Pivetta after just 79 pitches and he could have easily gotten out of the inning, possibly pitching into the seventh. Its been going on all season and I guarantee if the Sox make the playoffs, Cora is going to cost them big time by doing this stuff. Still, if the Sox bats got more than 4 hits then it wouldn't have come down to Whitlock in the bottom of the ninth. There just seems to be a dark cloud hanging over this team and its tough to pinpoint. They get outslugged by Tampa Bay then lose a pitcher's duel to Chicago. Nothing is working and the Sox are in serious danger of missing the playoffs. They still have 17 games left in the regular season so there's still time to turn it around. The loss dropped the Sox to 81-64, 9 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the Wild Card. The Sox now travel to Seattle for a set with the Mariners who also have wild card aspirations. Eduardo Rodriguez pitches for the Sox against Logan Gilbert of Seattle. The game begins at 10:05 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.