Before the game Christian Vazquez was removed from the Covid List, turns out he's okay. Ronaldo Hernandez was sent back down to Worcester without having been in a game.
As for the game, what better way to honor Jerry Remy than to get your brains beat in by the Toronto Blue Jays. A pre-game ceremony paid tribute to the late Remdawg was ruined by the Sox bats unable to get a hit in the clutch against the Jays. The Sox actually outhit the Jays 10-9 but the Jays had a huge second inning rally against the ineffective Nick Pivetta (0-3, 10.03 ERA). The Sox took a 1-0 lead on a JD Martinez rbi but the Jays rallied for 5 runs against Pivetta. The Sox offense didn't do a damn thing the rest of the game despite having men on base all day. Phillips Valdez and recent call up Tyler Danish managed to keep the Jays off the scoreboard but Matt Barnes allowed one final run. It all added up to a 6-1 defeat by the Jays at Fenway Park.
RIP Remy
Martinez drives in a run
Blue Jays ice it early
Pivetta got the ball in the top of the first and George Springer flied out to right to start. Bo Bichette grounded out to third but Vladimir Guerrero Jr walked. Lourdes Gurriel Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Berrios in the bottom of the first although Kike Hernandez lined out to center to begin. Rafael Devers doubled to right and JD Martinez lined a base hit to center to score him. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging but Alex Verdugo singled to right to move JD to third. Trevor Story struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Jays wasted zero time getting the lead in the top of the second as Matt Chapman led off with a base hit to right and Raimel Tapia hit a home run all the way to Alabama to put the Jays up for good. Santiago Espinal walked on 4 pitches not even close and Alejandro Kirk did the same. Cavan Biggio blooped a single to center to load the bases and Espinal scored on the bullet to Hernandez by Springer. Both runners moved over on the out and both scored on the Bichette single to left. Guerrero walked but Gurriel Jr forced Bichette at third. Chapman popped up to first to end the inning but the Jays had iced it early up 5-1.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to start. Jackie Bradley Jr singled to center and Connor Wong beat out a roller to second but Hernandez popped up to first. Devers swung on a 3-0 count and flied out to left to end the inning.
Somehow Pivetta returned for the top of the third inning and Tapia struck out swinging to begin. Espinal lined out to center but Kirk singled to right. Biggio took strike three to end the inning. Things went from bad to worse in the bottom of the third as Martinez doubled to left but keeled over on the bag. He had to be hauled off on a gurney, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to Mass General's ICU. Christian Arroyo ran for Martinez but Bogaerts took strike three. Verdugo lined out to left but Story was hit in the head with a pitch from Berrios. Thankfully Story was ok but Dalbec flied out to center to end the inning.
Shockingly Piveta returned for the top of the fourth and Springer effortlessly lined a base hit to left. Bichette went down hacking and Guerrero Jr took strike three, but Gurriel Jr singled off the glove of Devers. Chapman popped up to first to end the inning. Pivetta was done and his Dice K Disease cost him big as he allowed 5 runs in 4 innings.
JBJ singled to left to start the bottom of the fourth before moving to second on the Wong grounder to second. Hernandez popped up to first and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning.
Phillips Valdez came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Tapia lined out to center to start. Espinal lined out to center but Kirk singled to right. Biggio grounded out to second to end the inning. Arroyo struck out swinging to open the bottom of the fifth but Bogaerts doubled to right. Bogaerts moved to third on a grounder to second by Verdugo but Story flied out to left to end the inning.
Springer was plunked to start the top of the sixth but Bichette hit into a double play. Guerrero Jr struck out swinging to end the inning. Bradley Zimmer took over for Springer in the bottom of the sixth and Dalbec walked to start. JBJ took strike three but Dalbec moved to second on the grounder to second by Wong. Hernandez popped up to third to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to crap his pants in the top of the seventh as Gurriel Jr singled to center to start. Gurriel Jr stole second but Chapman popped up to third. Tapia swung and missed for strike three but the pitch went to the backstop and there were runners at the corners when Gurriel Jr moved to third. Espinal hit a sac fly to right to wrap up the scoring and Tapia stole second. Kirk grounded out to third to end the inning with the Jays up 6-1.
The Sox blew a rally with Tim Mayza on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Devers grounded out to third to start but Arroyo got a base hit to center. Bogaerts singled to right and both runners moved over on the grounder to first by Verdugo. Trevor Richards came in to face story and struck him out swinging to end the inning.
Tyler Danish made his Red Sox debut in the top of the eighth and made a great first impression by striking out the side. Biggio, Zimmer and Bichette all went down hacking to end the inning. Dalbec flied out to center to start the bottom of the eighth and JBJ grounded out to second. Wong struck out swinging to end the inning.
Guerrero Jr walked to start the top of the ninth but Gurriel Jr flied out to center. Chapman and Tapia both struck out swinging to end the inning. That's two innings and 5 strikeouts by Danish, outstanding.
Julian Merryweather came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Devers grounded out to first and Arroyo grounded out to second to end the game. The Jays had won it 6-1.
Jackass of the Night is Nick Pivetta. He was blasted for 5 runs in just 4 innings to put the Sox in too big of a hole to climb out of.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 2 with an rbi before leaving the game.
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 3 after replacing Martinez.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4.
Phillips Valdez tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Tyler Danish pitched 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Matt Barnes allowed a run in the seventh inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4.
Trevor Story was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
Much like how the Boston Celtics lost on the same day they retired Kevin Garnett's number, the Red Sox laying an egg on Jerry Remy's remembrance ceremony is par for the course in this town. Pivetta didn't have it tonight but the lack of clutch hitting was making fans pull their hair out. Outhitting a team and losing by 5 runs is pathetic. This is the same team that scored 6 runs the other night in an inning and they couldn't get a single rbi after the first inning. This season is starting out frighteningly similar to the 1992 Red Sox that led the league in ERA but had the worst offense. The Sox pitching apart from Pivetta and Kutter Crawford has been good but they haven't generated enough offense to compete. This is the one time I won't complain about pulling a starter early because not only did Tyler Danish eat up innings but Pivetta didn't have it. Hopefully Martinez isn't out too long and it'll be a miracle if Story doesn't have a concussion after taking a 93 mph fastball to the head. These two injuries along with the Covid outbreak that's claimed Kevin Plawecki and Jonathan Arauz isn't good. Still, we're only two weeks into the season so this is no time to panic. None of the other AL East teams have gone on a run so they're still in the thick of things. Hopefully they can get their act together soon since the Boston Celtics are starting their playoff run and will take up most of the attention if the Sox continue to flounder. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon in the getaway game with the Jays. Tanner Houck gets the ball for the Sox against Kevin Gausman of the Jays. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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