As for the game, ITS A MIRACLE!!!! If the July 22nd game against Toronto was the low point in the season, tonight's comeback win against the Texas Rangers has to be one of the high points. The Rangers broke out to a 4-2 lead over Rich Hill in the top of the fifth but Alex Verdugo chased Texas starter Glenn Otto with a home run in the sixth. The Rangers got four runs off Zack Kelly and Eduardo Bazardo to give the Rangers an 8-3 lead. Game over right? WRONG! Rafael Devers and Christian Arroyo knocked in runs in the eighth inning and a furious rally in the ninth inning tied the game with the bases loaded. Rob Refsnyder did the honors with a base hit to left to score Devers with the winning run. The Sox trailed 8-3 in the 8th and won the game 9-8 at Fenway Park.
Hill got the ball in the top of the first and Marcus Semien flied out to center to start. Corey Seager flied out to left but Nathaniel Lowe walked. Adolis Garcia took strike three to end the inning. Otto got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tommy Pham took strike three to begin. Alex Verdugo struck out swinging but Xander Bogaerts got a base hit to right. Rafael Devers struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jonah Heim flied out to center to start the top of the second before Leody Taveras caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single down the first base line. Taveras stole second and moved to third on the grounder to second by Mark Mathias. Charlie Culberson flied out to center to end the inning. JD Martinez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Christian Arroyo flied out to center. Franchy Cordero took strike three to end the inning.
The Rangers struck first in the top of the third as Bubba Thompson walked to start. Semien got a base hit to left and Seager also got a base hit to left to score Thompson. Lowe walked to load the bases but Garcia popped up to second. Heim hit one up the elevator shaft and Taveras watched strike three go by to end the inning with the Rangers up 1-0.
Rob Refsnyder led off the bottom of the third with a grounder to second before Kevin Plawecki flied out to center. Pham took strike three to end the inning.
Mathias grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth before Culberson grounded out to short. Thompson grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Verdugo beat out a roller to second to start. Bogaerts walked but Devers was frozen for strike three. Martinez grounded out to first to move the runners over and Arroyo doubled to right to score them both. Cordero flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
The Rangers blasted Hill in the top of the fifth as Semien walked to start. Seager doubled to right to score Semien and Lowe singled in the hole at short to move Seager to third. That was it for Hill who would be charged with 4 runs in just 4 innings. John Schreiber came in to pitch and Garcia beat out a double play ball to score Seager. Heim walked and Taveras beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Mathias got a base hit to center to score Garcia but Culberson popped up to second to end the inning with the Rangers up 4-2.
Hill doesn't last long
Refsnyder grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth before Plawecki lined out to third. Pham struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Thompson dropped down a bunt single down the third base line. Semien flied out to center but Thompson stole second. Seager and Lowe both struck out swinging to end the inning. Verdugo chased Otto with his 8th home run of the season to inch the Sox closer. Jesus Tinoco came in to get Bogaerts to ground out to second. Devers lined out to center but Martinez got a base hit to left. Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox down 4-3.
Zack Kelly came in to crap his pants in the top of the seventh as Garcia struck out swinging to start. Heim beat out a roller to third before Taveras walked. Mathias walked to load the bases and Kole Calhoun pinch hit for Culberson. Calhoun hit a sac fly to left to score Heim and Thompson beat out a roller to third to reload the bases. Semien singled in the hole at sort to score Taveras with another run. Seager grounded out to short to end the inning with the Rangers up 6-3.
Ezequiel Duran took over for Calhoun to start the bottom of the seventh and Cordero walked to start. Refsnyder got a base hit to center and Reese McGuire pinch hit for Plawecki. McGuire naturally banged into a double play and Pham grounded out to third to end the inning.
Eduard Bazardo made his season debut in the top of the eighth and Lowe dumped a base hit to right. Garcia then hit a home run all the way to Anaheim to increase the lead. Heim grounded out to third, Taveras grounded out to second and Mathias also grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rangers up 8-3.
Suddenly the Sox sprang to life in the bottom of the eighth as Matt Moore came in to pitch. Verdugo got a base hit to center but Bogaerts forced him at second. A wild pitch moved Bogaerts to second and he scored on the Devers double to right. Martinez walked and Arroyo singled to center to score Devers. Kike Hernandez pinch hit for Cordero and Jose Leclerc came in to pitch to him. Hernandez struck out swinging but Refsnyder walked to load the bases. McGuire struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 8-5.
Jeurys Familia came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Duran grounded out to third to start. Thompson grounded out to second but Semien singled to left. Seager flied out to right to end the inning. Jonathan Hernandez came in to close out the bottom of the ninth but suddenly the Sox rallied. Pham and Verdugo drew back to back walks and Bogaerts singled in the hole at first to load the bases. Devers doubled to left to score Pham & Verdugo but Martinez struck out swinging. Arroyo was intentionally walked to set up a double play. It failed as Hernandez got a base hit to right to score Bogaerts to tie the game and Refsnyder got a base hit to left to score Devers with the winning run. The Sox had stunned the Rangers 9-8.
Sox win
The Sox salute our Hero
Hero of The Night is Rob Refsnyder. His hit in the ninth won the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 4 with a walk, home run and 3 total runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 3 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Christian Arroyo was 2 for 4 wit a walk and 3 rbis.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
John Schreiber tossed a scoreless inning.
Kaleb Ort tossed a scoreless inning.
Jeurys Familia got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 2.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Rich Hill allowed 4 runs in 4 innings off 5 hits and 4 walks.
Zack Kelly allowed 2 runs in an inning of work.
Eduardo Bazardo allowed 2 runs in an inning of work.
The Ugly:
Tommy Pham was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was a comeback win for the ages, too bad its for a team on the brink of missing the playoffs. Still, a win like that might spark a run. Rich Hill got lit up and so did both Bazardo and Kelly, but the offense came through big time. The team's strength is still its offense and with Trevor Story healthy, they still have a 1-6 that's as good as anyone. If the bats don't suffer any more catastrophic injuries like Eric Hosmer than they might have a chance to bop their way through September. Getting some good pitching for once would be nice. The win improved the Sox to 64-68, 9.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the wild card. The Sox look to make it three wins a row and second straight tomorrow night against the Rangers. Nick Pivetta takes the mound against Dallas Keuchel of Texas. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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