It was a busy day for the Boston Red Sox organization as they made a series of roster moves. In less important news, the Salem Red Sox released three of their prospects today. 22 year outfielder Darel Belen, 24 year old pitcher Adenys Bautista and 25 year old pitcher Miguel Suero. In a few days a lot of the Florida Complex rookies are going to be promoted to Salem now that the FCL season is over, these guys were expendable. Belen was a 19 year old Dominican teenager signed by Dave Dombrowski in 2019 and hit a horrific .102 in 32 games this year. As mentioned back in May, Bautista was the guy the Sox got in the Sandy Leon trade and he was just 2-2 with a mediocre 4.19 ERA. Last year's draft pick Elmer Cruz-Rodriguez is on his way and they didn't need Bautista anymore. Suero was signed as a 20 year old by Dave Dombrowski at the end of the 2017 season but was 4-2 with a hideous 6.39 ERA. I mentioned in May that if Suero didn't pick it up he would be gone, well he didn't pick it up and now he's gone. In major league news, the Jarren Duran experiment is finally over as he was mercifully sent back to Worcester. Its amazing how far Duran crashed and burned in less than two months after looking like he had it all figured out at the end of June. In the end, he played embarrassing defense, got thrown out on the base paths and hit just .215. Not only did he fail to make an impact in Boston, his trade value nosedived because of his loafing in the field and lack of plate discipline. Who knows what the Sox can do with him now. In his place the Sox activated Trevor Story who's wrist has finally healed. Too bad the Sox are pretty much out of contention now. Maybe he'll hit some home runs in September or something.
As for the game, don't look now but the Red Sox might win another series against an AL East team. Rich Hill (6-5, 4.32 ERA) tossed his best game of the season, shutting out the Rays for seven innings allowing just 3 hits. The Sox bats blitzed old pal Jeffrey Springs for four first inning runs. JD Martinez and Bobby Dalbec both had two run singles to set the tone. Kike Hernandez also hit a home run to put the game out of reach. Jeurys Familia got in trouble in the eighth but John Schreiber slammed the door to give the Sox a 5-1 victory over the Rays at Fenway Park.
Hill got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz lined out to right to start. Manny Margot lined out to short and Randy Arozarena struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox bum rushed Springs in the bottom of the first as Tommy Pham got a base hit to left to walk. Alex Verdugo doubled to center and JD Martinez got a single off the Monster to score both runners. Rafael Devers forced Martinez at second and Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging, but the returning Trevor Story singled in the hole at short. Kike Hernandez walked to load the bases and Bobby Dalbec drilled a base hit to center to score Devers and Story. Kevin Plawecki struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Dalbec drives in a pair
Harold Ramirez took strike three to start the top of the second inning before Isaac Parades watched strike three go by. Christian Bethancourt grounded out to short to end the inning. Pham took strike three to start the bottom of the second before Verdugo grounded out to short. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yu Chang got a base hit down the line to third to begin the top of the third but Taylor Walls struck out swinging. Jose Siri went down hacking and Diaz also swung at air to end the inning. Devers went down hacking to begin the bottom of the third before Bogaerts grounded out to short. Story struck out swinging to end the inning.
Margot flied out to right to begin the top of the fourth before Arozarena singled in the hole at short. Ramirez flied out to right but Arozarana stole second. Parades lined out to right to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Hernandez belted his sixth home run of the season to increase the lead. Dalbec popped up to short and Plawecki watched strike three go by, but Pham got a base hit to left. Pham was thrown out at second trying to steal and Alex Cora's challenge of the call was unsuccessful, but the Sox still led 5-0.
Bethancourt grounded out to third to begin the top of the fifth before Chang drew a walk. Walls struck out swinging and Siri forced Chang at second to end the inning. Verdugo got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Martinez struck out swinging. Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Diaz grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth before Margot struck out swinging. Arozarena flied out to right to end the inning. Bogaerts lined out to right to start the bottom of the sixth before Story flied out to center. Hernandez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Hill returned for one last inning in the top of the seventh and Ramirez struck out swinging. Parades got a base hit to center but Bethancourt took strike three. Chang was frozen for strike three to end the inning. Hill was outstanding, allowing just 3 hits and a walk in seven shutout innings.
Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Dalbec struck out swinging to start. Plawecki grounded out to third and Pham struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jeurys Familia came in to get tagged in the top of the eighth as Walls lined out to left to start. Siri grounded out to third but Diaz got a base hit to right. Margot got a base hit to center and Arozarena got a base hit to right to score Diaz. That was it for Familia as John Schreiber came in to get Ramirez to ground back to the mound to end the inning with the Rays down 5-1.
Verdugo grounded out to second to start the bottom of the eighth before Martinez took strike three. Devers popped up to second to end the inning.
Schreiber returned to close out the top of the ninth and Parades grounded out to short to start. David Peralta pinch hit for Bethancourt and drew a walk before Ji-Man Choi pinch hit for Chang. A wild pitch moved Peralta to second but Choi struck out swinging. Walls grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-1.
Hero of the Night is Rich Hill. He shut out the Rays for 7 innings allowing just 3 hits and a walk while striking out 11.
The Good:
Tommy Pham was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Trevor Story was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 2 with a home run.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with 2 rbis.
John Schreiber earned his fifth save with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Jeurys Familia allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in 2 runs.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Things are looking up slightly for the Red Sox with Trevor Story and Kike Hernandez back from injury and Rich Hill looking sharp. Too bad Eric Hosmer got hurt but Bobby Dalbec had a big hit in this one. The Sox will go as far as their rotation will take them and if Hill, Wacha, Eovaldi and Pivetta stay healthy they might still have a chance for October baseball....barely. Their inability to beat the AL East until the end of August might have put them in too tall of a hole to climb out of. Still, they have the talent to go on a winning streak, it just remains to be seen. The win improved the Sox to 62-65, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the series from the Rays tomorrow afternoon when Nick Pivetta (9-9) takes on Corey Kluber of Tampa. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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