Sox Rally To Beat Rays (9/8/21)

With the season spiraling down the drain, the Boston Red Sox were just four outs away from being swept out of Boston by the Tampa Bay Rays. Shane McClanahan and the Tampa bullpen held the Sox scoreless through seven innings. Nathan Eovaldi held the Rays scoreless through seven innings himself to keep the Sox in the game. Josh Taylor then allowed a single by Brandon Lowe in the top of the eighth and Garrett Richards gave up an rbi single by Nelson Cruz to put Tampa on top. With Kyle Schwarber at first and two out, Hunter Renfroe hit a two run bomb off JT Chargois to put Boston ahead. If that wasn't enough, Renfroe threw out Joey Wendle at third trying to stretch a double for the final out. The Sox saved their season with a come from behind 2-1 victory at Fenway Park.

                                                       Jill Valentine approves of the win

Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first and Brandon Lowe led off with a base hit to center. Wander Franco lined out to center and Lowe moved to second on a grounder to second by Cruz. Austin Meadows popped up to third to end the inning. McClanahan got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez flied out to center to start. Hunter Renfroe grounded out to third but JD Martinez walked. Rafael Devers got a base hit to right but Bobby Dalbec lined out to right to end the inning.

Ji Man Choi struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Manny Margot flied out to center. Joey Wendle grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Kevin Plawecki grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second but Danny Santana singled to center. Santana stole second but Jose Iglesias struck out swinging.

Josh Lowe walked to start the top of the third before Mike Zunino popped up to first. Josh Lowe stole second and Brandon Lowe walked, but Franco lined out to center. Cruz struck out swinging to end the inning. Hernandez got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the third before being forced at second by Renfroe. Martinez flied out to center and Devers lined out to left to end the inning.

Meadows struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth and Choi also went down hacking. Margot got a base hit to right but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double by Renfroe to end the inning. Dalbec flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Plawecki struck out swinging. Santana lined out to right to end the inning.

Wendle struck out swinging to begin the top of the fifth but Josh Lowe got a swinging bunt single in front of the plate. Zunino and Brandon Lowe both struck out swinging to end the inning. Iglesias lined out to left to begin the bottom of the fifth before Arauz struck out swinging. Hernandez lined out to left to end the inning.

Franco grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth and Cruz popped up to short. Meadows struck out swinging to end the inning. Andrew Kittredge came in for McClanahan in the bottom of the sixth and Renfroe got a base hit to right to start. Martinez banged into a double play and Devers went down hacking to end the inning.

Eovaldi came back for the top of the seventh and Choi grounded out to first to start. Margot and Wendle both grounded out to first to end the inning. Eovaldi tossed 7 innings of shutout ball allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8.

                                                             Great work Eovaldi

Pete Fairbanks came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Dalbec took strike three to start. Plawecki and Santana both went hacking to end the inning.

Josh Taylor came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Yandy Diaz pinch hit for Josh Lowe to start. Diaz grounded out to second and Zunino flied out to right. Brandon Lowe beat out a roller to second and that was it for Taylor. Garrett Richards came in and Franco walked before Cruz dropped a base hit to right to score Lowe. Meadows took strike three to end the inning with the Rays ahead 1-0.

                                                         Cruz puts Tampa ahead

Kevin Keirmaier took over at center with Matt Wisler on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. With the season on the line, Alex Verdugo pinch hit for Iglesias and got a base hit to right. JT Chargois came in to face Arauz but Sox manager Alex Cora pinch hit Kyle Schwarber for Arauz. Kyle forced Verdugo at second and Hernandez lined out to center. Down to their final four outs with the season slipping away, Renfroe pounded his 27th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Martinez doubled to left and Devers was intentionally walked, but Dalbec grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.

                                                                 Renfroe saves the season

Travis Shaw took over at first with Hansel Robles now on the mound to close out the top of the ninth. Choi and Margot struck out swinging but Wendle hit a gap shot into right field. Wendle had second base but tried to go to third, getting thrown out by none other than Renfroe to end the game. The Sox had shocked the Rays 2-1.

                                                            Sox win

Hero of The Night is Hunter Renfroe. He hit the go-ahead two run home run and threw out the tying run at third to end the game.

                                                        Hero Renfroe

The Good:

JD Martinez was just 1 for 3 with a walk.

Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Danny Santana was 1 for 3 with a stolen base.

Alex Verdugo got a base hit as a pinch hitter.

Kyle Schwarber scored a run in the eighth inning.

Nathan Eovaldi tossed 7 shutout innings allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8.

Hansel Robles earned his 12th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Jose Iglesias was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Josh Taylor was charged with a run in 2/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4.

Garrett Richards vultured the win by allowing an inherited runner to score in 1/3 of an inning.

Honorable Mention:

Travis Shaw played first base in the top of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

In terms of regular season wins, this was a pretty important one. Not only are the Sox hanging on to the wild card for dear life, they need to beat the Rays if they have any hope of winning the division. Barring a collapse by Tampa, its not going to happen but the chance is there. Still, if the Sox want to focus their attention on New York, snatching a win from the jaws of victory was important. Eovaldi pitched very well but the offense was asleep for most of the game. Renfroe saved their bacon in the field and at the plate. Too bad the bullpen broke down over the course of the season or else they'd be odds on favorites to win it all. A win like this could propel them so hopefully good things are in store with 20 games left in the season. The win improved the Sox to 80-42, 9 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Friday night in Chicago for a set with the White Sox. Tanner Houck (0-4, 3.54 ERA) gets the start for Boston against Carlos Rodon for Chicago. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Comiskey Park.