Sox Bats Silenced by Twins (8/29/22)

The Boston Red Sox made some roster moves that were somewhat expected. Hiro Sawamura and Austin Davis were designated for assignment before tonight's game and in their places, the Sox called up Kaleb Ort and 27 year old right handed pitcher Zack Kelly from Worcester. Davis and Sawamura have been straight batting practice lately but mostly are casualties from two straight years of bullpen overuse. The Sox not having a proper rotation since 2019 pretty much sealed the fate of Davis and Sawamura. Ort we know but Kelly was an undrafted rookie free agent signed by Oakland in 2017 and was signed as a minor league free agent by the Red Sox prior to the 2021 season. He'll be making his ML debut soon.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                            IN

As for the game, another waste of time in a season spiraling down the drain. The Boston Red Sox were stoned cold by Dylan "King Kong" Bundy and the Minnesota Twins bullpen. Bundy was knocked out in the fifth inning after giving up 2 runs and 9 hits. The Sox had just one hit the rest of the game against the bullpen. Meanwhile Brayan Bello (0-4. 7.27 ERA) was a victim of terrible bullpen management by Alex Cora as he was charged with 3 runs in 4 innings. Cora brought in John Schreiber with the bases loaded in the fifth and Gio Urshela cleared them with a double. The Sox failed to score the rest of the way and the Sox lost 4-2 at Target Field.

                                                  Foamy is on strike for better managing

Bundy got the ball in the top of the first and Tommy Pham reached on a roller to the mound to start. Alex Verdugo flied out to left and Xander Bogaerts flied out to right. Rafael Devers grounded out to first to end the inning. Bello got the ball in the bottom of the first and Luis Arraez lined out to right to start. Carlos Correa struck out swinging but Max Kepler lined out to left to end the inning.

JD Martinez popped up to second to start the top of the second but Trevor Story got a base hit to left. Franchy Cordero flied out to right and Christian Arroyo flied out to center to end the inning. Jose Miranda grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second before Nick Gordon got a base hit to right. Gio Urshela struck out swinging and Jake Cave forced Gordon at second to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Reese McGuire grounded out to short to start. Pham got a base hit to left and Verdugo doubled to left to score Tommy. Bogaerts got a base hit to center to move Verdugo to third but Devers lined out to right. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Verdugo drives in a run

Gilberto Celestino singled to right to start the bottom of the third before old pal Sandy Leon popped up to third. Arraez got a base hit to left but Correa forced Celestino at third. Kepler flied out to center to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth as Story walked to start. Cordero singled to right to move Story to third but Arroyo popped up to second. McGuire doubled to left to score Story but Pham grounded out to third. Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                          McGuire doubles in a run

The Twins got a run back in the bottom of the fourth as Miranda singled to right to start. Gordon singled to center and Urshela walked to load the bases with nobody out. Cave hit a sac fly to center to score Miranda and Celestino flied out to right to move Gordon to third. Leon grounded out to first to end the inning with the Twins down 2-1.

                                                            Cave drives in a run

Bogaerts singled in the hole to start the top of the fifth before Devers lined out to center. Martinez struck out swinging but Story got a base hit to center to move Bogaerts to third. Caleb Theilbar came in to pitch to Cordero but Sox manager Alex Cora countered by pinch hitting Rob Refsnyder. Rob struck out swinging to end the inning. The Twins knocked Bello out in the bottom of the fifth as Arraez and Correa drew back to back walks to start. That was it for Bello who'd be charged with four runs in 4 innings of work. 

                                                       "Damn you Cora" - Bello

Matt Strahm came in to pitch and Kepler moved the runners over with a squibber in front of the plate. Miranda walked to load the bases and Kyle Garrick pinch hit for Gordon. Gordon took strike three but Sox manager Alex Cora inexplicably brought in John Schreiber to pitch to Urshela. Urshela doubled to right to clear the bases and ice the game. Cave struck out swinging but the Twins now led 4-2.

                                                         Urshela ices it

Caleb Hamilton took over at first to start the top of the sixth and Arroyo grounded out to third to start. McGuire lined out to left and Pham flied out to right to end the inning. Zack Kelly made his ML debut in the bottom of the sixth and Celestino took strike three to start. Leon watched strike three go by but Arraez got a base hit to right. Arraez got thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.

Jhoan Duran came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Verdugo struck out swinging to start. Bogaerts struck out swinging and Devers grounded out to short to end the inning. Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Correa lined out to left to start. Kepler flied out to center but Miranda walked. Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning.

Griffin Jax came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Martinez grounded out to third to start. Story got a base hit to center then promptly stole second. Refsnyder and Arroyo both struck out swinging to end the inning. Urshela walked to begin the bottom of the eighth but Cave lined out to center. Celestino flied out to center and Leon struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jorge Lopez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and McGuire grounded out to third to begin. Pham grounded out to first and Verdugo struck out swinging to end the game. The Twins had won it 4-2.

                                                                Sox lose

Jackass of The Night is John Schreiber. He allowed the 3 run double to Urshela to lose the game.

                                                              Jackass Schreiber

The Good:

Tommy Pham was 2 for 5 with a run scored.

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4.

Trevor Story was 3 for 3 with a walk, stolen base and run scored.

Franchy Cordero was 1 for 2.

Zack Kelly tossed a scoreless inning.

Kaleb Ort pitched two scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Rafael Devers was 0 for 4.

JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.

Christian Arroyo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Brayan Bello was charged with 4 runs in 4 innings off 5 hits and 3 walks.

Matt Straham allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Reese McGuire was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

What was Cora thinking bringing Schreiber in the fifth inning? Its way to early to manage every game like its Game 7 of the World Series like he did last September. The difference is, last year they were in the driver's seat while this year they're on the outside looking in. Bello once again got rocked and he's looked bad in every single game he's pitched so far. Then again, so has the other rookies. The real problem was the Sox bats scoring just 2 runs against the starter and none off the Twins bullpen. Its all adding up to a lost season where absolutely nothing is going right. The loss dropped the Sox to 62-67, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the Twins when Kutter Crawford (3-5) takes on Chris Archer of Minnesota. The game begins at 7:40 PM Eastern time at Target Field.