Before the game it was announced that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora tested positive for Covid and will be out for the short term. Bench coach Will Venable will take over when the Sox go to Tampa. Maybe he won't remove the starters 5 innings into their starts.
As for the game, close but no cigar for the Boston Red Sox. The slumping Sox bats slept walked through 8 innings, getting dominated for 7 innings by Kevin Gausman. Tanner Houck (1-1, 3.21 ERA) allowed 2 runs in 5 innings of work as the Sox continued to get shutout. The Jays scored a run off Matt Barnes in the sixth but the Sox rallied in the ninth inning. The Sox got two runs in and had Xander Bogaerts at third but Bobby Dalbec and Jackie Bradley Jr failed to get him in as the Sox dropped their second straight game to the Jays 3-2 at Fenway Park.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and Raimel Tapia struck out swinging to begin. Bo Bichette went down hacking and Vladimir Guerrero Jr popped up to first to end the inning. Gausman got the ball in the bottom of the first and Trevor Story struck out swinging to start. Rafael Devers grounded back to the mound and Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
Zack Collins took strike three to start the top of the second and Lourdes Gurriel Jr flied out to center. Matt Chapman doubled to center but Cavan Biggio grounded out to second to end the inning. Alex Verdugo went down swinging to open the bottom of the second but Bobby Dalbec got a base hit to right. Both Jackie Bradley Jr and Christian Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Jays struck first in the top of the third as Gosuke Katoh walked to start. Bradley Zimmer flied out to left but Raimel Tapia singled to center. Bichette hit line drive off the glove of Story to score Katoh and advance Tapia to third. Guerrero Jr hit a sac fly to score Tapi and Bichette swiped second base. Collins lined out to center to end the inning with the Jays up for good 2-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Gausman snuffed out Travis Shaw's bunt attempt to start. Christian Arroyo grounded out to first and Story struck out swinging to end the inning.
Houck cruised in the top of the fourth as Gurriel Jr flied out to center to open. Chapman grounded out to third and Biggio took strike three to end the inning. Devers grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth but Bogaerts singled to center. Verdugo banged into a double play to end the inning.
Houck cruised in the top of the fifth as Katoh grounded out to second to start. Zimmer grounded back to the mound and Tapia grounded out to third to end the inning. Even though he had only thrown 71 pitches, Sox manager Alex Cora ORDERED Will Venable to remove Houck from the game. He had one bad inning where he allowed 2 runs but that was it through five.
The Sox were in a rut in the bottom of the fifth as Dalbec flied out to right to start. JBJ lined out to third but Christian Vazquez dumped a base hit to the wall....only to be thrown out at second trying to stretch a double to end the inning.
Ryan Brasier came in for the top of the sixth and Bichette lined out to right to start. Guerrero Jr doubled to right but Collins flied out to left. Gurriel Jr walked and Chapman hit a routine pop up to Shaw who....let the ball drop amd shrugged his shoulders for a "single" that scored Guerrero Jr. George Springer pinch hit for Biggio and that was it for Brasier as Austin Davis came in to pitch. Springer struck out swinging to end the inning but the Jays had iced it and were up 3-0.
As usual the Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Shaw popped up to short to start. Arroyo singled to left and moved to second on the grounder to third by Story, but Devers was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.
Santiago Espinal pinch hit for Katoh and struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh and Davis snuffed out Zimmer's bunt attempt. Tapia singled to right and that was it for Davis. Horo Sawamura came in to pitch and Bichette singled to right to put runners at the corners. Guerrero Jr flied out to center to end the inning. Bogaerts tried to start a rally with a base hit to right to start the bottom of the seventh but after a review, Verdugo hit into a double play. Dalbec singled to right but JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning.
Collins lined out to second to start the top of the eighth but Gurriel Jr singled to left. Chapman slapped a base hit to left but Verdugo gunned down Gurriel at third. Springer struck out swinging to end the inning. Vazquez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the eighth before Shaw flied out to center. Arroyo struck out swinging to end the inning and Gausman was three outs from a complete game shutout at 87 pitches. Cora told Venable to pull Houck after 71 in comparison.
Phillips Valdez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Espinal grounded out to short to start. Zimmer struck out swinging and Tapia grounded out to first to end the inning. Gausman returned very briefly in the bottom of the ninth but Story hit a seeing eye single to right to chase him. Jordan Romano came in to pitch and Devers walked. Bogaerts doubled home Story but all Verdugo could do was drive home Devers with a grounder to short. Bogaerts moved to third on the play but was stranded as Dalbec grounded out to third. With the game on the line, JBJ grounded out to first to end the game. The Jays had held on to win 3-2.
Jackass of the Night is Jackie Bradley Jr. He was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts including leaving the tying run at third in the ninth.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3.
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 3.
Austin Davis pitched a full scoreless inning.
Hiro Sawamura tossed 1 1/3 scoreless inning.
Phillips Valdez pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Travis Shaw was 0 for 3.
Ryan Brasier was charged with a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Tanner Houck took the loss but allowed just 2 runs in 5 innings of work while striking out 4.
Final Thoughts:
Things are going from bad to worse around here. Not only are the Sox not hitting but the PR department took a hit when former Sox broadcaster Don Orsillo announced that he was asked to do a video tribute to Jerry Remy during last night's game but Sox brass told him "thanks but no thanks" at the last second. If the product on the field wasn't bad enough, this isn't sitting well with Sox fans. Fans haven't been this upset at the Sox on and off the field since 2017 when the fans were ready to riot in July when it was discovered David Price and several Sox players mocked Dennis Eckersley on a flight. This is not the time to panic as there's plenty of games still to play but this is all leaving a bad taste in the mouths of Red Sox fans. With Alex Cora out with Covid, bench coach Will Venable takes control of the team but is basically just a figurehead with Cora calling the shots from wherever he quarantines. Hopefully this doesn't become an epidemic because that's the last thing they need since they're already struggling. The Sox now head to Tampa without their manager and play tomorrow night. Michael Wacha (0-0, 0.96 ERA) goes up against former Indians/Guardians ace Corey Kluber. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Tropicana Field.
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