Looks like the season might be coming to an end for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox were reeling after getting swept by the New York Yankees and needed to turn things around against the terrible Baltimore Orioles. The suddenly non-existent offense got shut down by Bruce Zimmermann and the beleaguered Baltimore bullpen. Meanwhile Chris Sale (5-1, 2.90 ERA) suffered his first loss of the season against the worst team in baseball, getting knocked out in the sixth inning. Tanner Houck allowed an insurance run in the eighth inning and the Sox slid further into the abyss with a 4-2 defeat in Baltimore at Camden Yards.
Zimmermann got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez flied out to center to start. Hunter Renfroe flied out to right but Rafael Devers walked. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning. Sale got the ball in the bottom of the first and Cedric Mullins struck out swinging to start. Ryan Mountcastle took strike three and Austin Hays grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning as JD Martinez grounded out to third to start. Kyle Schwarber belted his 32nd home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Bobby Dalbec flied out to right and Jose Iglesias struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Trey Mancini flied out to center to start the bottom of the second before Pedro Severino singled to left. Ryan McKenna flied out to right and Pat Valaika flied out to right to end the inning.
Christian Vazquez flied out to center to start the top of the third before Hernandez grounded out to third. Renfroe singled in the hole at short but Devers popped up to third in foul territory to end the inning. Jahmai Jones took strike three to start the bottom of the third before Kelvin Gutierrez walked. Mullins hit a bullet to Dalbec who doubled off Gutierrez to end the inning,
Bogaerts grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth before Martinez did the same. Schwarber walked but Dalbec flied out to left to end the inning. Mountcastle struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before Hays also went down hacking. Devers booted a grounder by Mancini for an error but Severino grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Marcos Diplan came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Iglesias lined out to center to start. Vazquez flied out to center and Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning. McKenna grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Valaika lined out to center. Jones took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Renfroe blasted his 29th home run of the season to increase the lead. Devers struck out swinging, Bogaerts took strike three and Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Suddenly the O's attacked in the bottom of the sixth. Gutierrez beat out an infield single to short but Mullins flied out to left. Mountcastle hit a home run all the way to Sweden to tie the game and Hays singled to center to chase Sale. Despite being at 85 pitches, Dr. Quick Hook Cora yanked Sale at the first sign of trouble AGAIN, causing the bullpen to once again throw essentially four innings. He would be charged with 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings allowing 4 hits and a walk. Hansel Robles came in to pitch and Mancini dumped a base hit to right. Severino singled in the hole at third to score Hays with the go-ahead run. McKenna grounded into a double play to end the inning with the O's up 3-2.
The Sox failed to respond against Joey Krehbiel in the top of the seventh. Schwarber struck out swinging, Dalbec flied out to left and Iglesias grounded out to short to end the inning. Tanner Houck came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Schwarber struck out swinging to start. Jones popped up to first in foul territory and Gutierrez walked. Mullins struck out swinging to end the inning.
Richie Martin came in for Valaika to start the top of the eighth and Alex Verdugo pinch hit for Christian Vazquez. Verdugo grounded out to first before Hernandez grounded out to third. Renfroe hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. The O's struck in the bottom of the eighth with Kevin Plawecki behind the plate as Mountcastle struck out swinging to start. Hays flied out to center but Mancini singled to right. Severino beat out a roller to third and McKenna dumped a base hit to right....booted by Verdugo for an error that scored Mancini. Valaika popped up to second to end the inning with the O's up 4-2.
Cole Sulser came in to close out the top of the ninth and Devers flied out to left to start. Bogaerts grounded out to third and Martinez lined out to left to end the game. The O's had won it 4-2.
Jackass of The Night is Tanner Houck. He allowed the big insurance run to score to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Hunter Renfroe was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Kyle Schwarber was 1 for 2 with a walk and a home run.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
JD Martinez was 0 for 4.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3.
Jose Iglesias was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 1 with an error.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Chris Sale took the loss by allowing just 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed 4 hits and a walk while striking out six.
Hansel Robles allowed an inherited runner to score in 2/3 of an inning.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Plawecki caught the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
Another disaster class in overmanaging by Alex Cora. Once again, the offense wasn't doing much but yanking the starter and forcing the bullpen to throw damn near four innings backfired again. Hansel Robles allowed the inherited runner to score and Houck allowed 2 of his own to put the game out of reach. The offense falling asleep was the primary culprit but the season long yanking of starters finally came back to haunt the Sox. Sale had been dominant for five innings but taking him out started the trickle effect. If the Sox don't make the playoffs, the blame falls on Cora more than anything. The loss dropped the Sox to 88-69, 2 games behind the New York Yankees for the first wild card and only 0.5 above the Seattle Mariners for the second. The Sox look to snap their four game losing streak tomorrow night against the Orioles when Nathan Eovaldi (10-9) takes on Zac Lowther of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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