In a case of "this can't possibly get worse" the Boston Red Sox seem to top themselves every single time. Tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays was like a mirror image of last night's game only more cruel. Nick Pivetta held the Jays to just 2 runs in 4 2/3 innings before acting Sox manager Will Venable went to the bullpen. The Sox managed to scratch out just one measly run against Jays starter Kevin Gausman for 6 innings. Somehow the Sox exploded for four runs in the top of the eighth to take a commanding lead. What happened? With two outs in the bottom of the ninth Jake Diekman served up a three run home run to George Springer and Matt Barnes served up the game ending sac fly in the bottom of the tenth to lose the game. The "closer by committee" approach has now cost the Sox three of the last four games including this one 6-5 in 10 innings at the Skydome.
Gausman got the ball in the top of the first inning and Trevor Story took strike three to start. Alex Verdugo flied out to center and Xander Bogaerts went down hacking to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and George Springer popped up to third to start. Bo Bichette flied out to center and Vladimir Guerrero Jr popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
JD Martinez tried to start a rally with a double to left to start the top of the second inning but Kike Hernandez struck out swinging. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left and Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning. Zack Collins struck out swinging to open the bottom of the second before Matt Chapman went down hacking as well. Raimel Tapia flied out to left to end the inning.
Christian Arroyo flied out to right to start the top of the third but Christian Vazquez singled to left. Vazquez moved to second on the grounder to third by Story but Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. The Jays struck first in the bottom of the third as Santiago Espinal walked to start. Gosuke Katoh forced Espinal at second before he stole second base. Bradley Zimmer walked and it looked like they pulled off a double steal, but acting Sox manager Will Venable challenged that Katoh was out at third. Turns out he was right and Katoh was called out....only for Springer to single to left to score Zimmer anyway to put the Jays on top. Bichette struck out swinging to end the inning with the Jays up 1-0.
Bogaerts looked to start a rally with a base hit to center to start the top of the fourth then took off for second on the swinging strikeout by Martinez. Collins ended up throwing the ball away which allowed Bogaerts to make it all the way to third and he scored on the sac fly by Hernandez, which was actually a great catch by Springer. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Jays got the run right back as Guerrero Jr walked to start the bottom of the fourth. Collins singled to right but Chapman struck out swinging. Tapia flied out to center but Espinal singled to center to score Guerrero. Katoh struck out swinging to end the inning with the Jays up 2-1.
Gausman dominated the top of the fifth as Dalbec took strike three to start. Arroyo took strike three and Vazquez struck out swinging. Zimmer took strike three to start the bottom of the fifth before Springer grounded out to third. Naturally after Bichette walked Will Venable came out of the dugout to take out Pivetta. Nathan Eovaldi was pulled after 72 pitches last night but Pivetta had thrown 98 and allowed 2 runs in 4 2/3 innings. Hiro Sawamura got Guerrero Jr to ground out on a dribbler in front of the plate to end the inning.
Story flied out to left to start the top of the sixth but Verdugo grounded out to third. Bogaerts got a base hit to center but Martinez lined out to first to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Collins struck out swinging to start. Chapman grounded out to short and Tapia flied out to left to end the inning.
Tyler Heineman came in to catch and Trevor Richards came in to pitch the top of the seventh. Hernandez grounded out to short to start before JBJ struck out swinging. Dalbec earned the hat trick with a swinging strikeout to end the inning. Espinal singled to right to start the bottom of the second and moved to second on the sacrifice bunt by Katoh. Espinal moved to third on the grounder to first by Zimmer and Ryan Brasier came in to pitch to Springer. Brasier got George to fly out to right to end the inning.
Yimi Garcia came in to pitch the top of the eighth but Rafael Devers pinch hit for Arroyo. Devers got a base hit in the hole at second and Vazquez dropped a base hit to right. Somehow ripped a doubled into the centerfield gap to score Devers to tie the game. Verdugo hit a sac fly to not only score Vazquez but move Story to third. Bogaerts doubled home Story to increase the lead and chase Garcia. David Phelps came in and Martinez was retired on a squibber in front of the plate. Bogaerts moved to third on the play and Hernandez beat out a roller to third to score Xander with another run. Hernandez was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Hansel Robles came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Bichette flied out to center to start. Guerrero Jr lined out to center and Alejandro Kirk pinch hit for Heineman. Kirk singled to right but Chapman flied out to left to end the inning.
Ryan Borucki came in to pitch the top of the ninth and the Sox blew another rally. JBJ grounded out to short but Dalbec walked. Devers struck out swinging but Vazquez walked. Story struck out swinging to end the inning. All hell broke lose when Jake Diekman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth as Tapia doubled to left to begin. Espinal doubled home Tapia and Gurriel Jr pinch hit for Katoh. Gurriel Jr struck out swinging and Zimmer took strike three. On a 2-1 count to Springer....George clobbered a home run all the way to Quebec to tie the game. Matt Barnes relieved Diekman and got Bichette to ground out to third to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Jordan Romano came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Story on second base. Story moved to third on the grounder to short by Verdugo but Bogaerts lined back to the mound. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. Bichette started at second for the bottom of the tenth and for some dumb reason Guerrero Jr was intentionally walked to start. Kirk walked to load the bases but Chapman was rung up for strike three. Matt Strahm was brought in to face Tapia and Naturally Raimel hit a sac fly to left to score Bichette to win the game. The Jays had shocked the Sox and won the game 6-5.
Jays win
Diekman The Jackass
Jackass of the Night is Jake Diekman. He served up a 3 run bomb with 2 outs in the ninth.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5 with an rbi, stolen base and a run scored.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3 with 2 rbis.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 2 with a run scored.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Nick Pivetta allowed just 2 runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Hiro Sawamura retired the only man he faced/
Austin Davis tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Ryan Brasier got the only guy he faced out.
Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Matt Barnes was charged with the loss and the losing run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Trevor Story was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run and scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.
Matt Strahm allowed the game ending sac fly in the tenth inning.
Final Thoughts:
What can you say at this point? The closer by committee approach isn't working, the offense isn't working, nothing is working. Even when the offense shows some balls to rally to take the lead the bullpen blows it AGAIN. Now fans are panicking and blaming just about everyone and everything. One fan had the valid criticism of trading Hunter Renfroe for Bradley coming back to haunt them, another is asking why the Sox kept Shaw over Jose Iglesias and on and on. The problem is Sox brass is relying on "analytics" and that no starter can face the lineup three times. The problem is that approach only worked because the A-Team was so dominant from April to June. Once their arms fell off one by one, the 30-31 record to finish the season should have been a clue that pulling starters early DOESN'T WORK! Now Cora and Will Venable are pulling guys early and they don't have the bullpen to compensate. Even if Strahm, Robles and Garrett Whitlock were to combine to be formidable, their arms wouldn't be able to handle pitching every day because Cora is pulling guys early. As mentioned earlier, Eovaldi was pulled after 72 pitches and Venable let Pivetta throw 98. The worst excuse of all comes from the fans and media haveing the audacity to blame Tanner Houck for not being vaccinated. That's one of the laziest excuses because he's not part of the offense that does nothing for 7 innings every game and the bullpen that's blown three of the last four games. Bottom line is things aren't working right now and the AL East is too stacked to fall too far behind. Look at the Jays last year missing the playoffs by a single game. Speaking of the Jays, they're loose, having fun and are shown in the dugout having a great time every game. You know who that used to be, the Red Sox in 2018. Take a good look Sox fans because those days are going to be gone unless the Sox turn the ship around. The Sox look to break their losing streak tomorrow night against the Jays. Michael Wacha (1-0, 1.88 ERA) takes on Ross Stripling of Toronto. The game begins at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.
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