As for the game, that was a sucker punch to the gonads. For 7 innings it was all Cincinnati Reds as they took advantage of a hasty Alex Cora decision to score 8 runs. Brayan Bello (3-3, 3.89 ERA) had allowed just 1 run through four innings but the bullpen completely imploded. Thanks to a Jose Barrero grand slam, the Reds scored 7 runs off Justin Garza and Joely Rodriguez. The Sox rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh but Spencer Steer got a run off Ryan Sherriff. Suddenly the Sox sprang to life scoring 5 runs to put the tying run at third base against Alexis Diaz. Triston Casas struck out to end the rally and the game. The Reds had won the game 9-8 at Fenway Park.
Bello got the ball in the top of the first inning and TJ Friedl grounded out to short to start. Matt McLain singled to right to right and moved to second on a Jonathan India grounder back to the mound. Jake Fraley walked and Tyler Stephenson walked to load the bases. Spencer Steer forced Tyler at second to end the inning. Blake Lively got the ball in the bottom of the first and Raimel Tapia grounded out to second to start. Rafael Devers flied out to center and Justin Turner flied out to right to end the inning.
The Reds struck first in the top of the second as Kevin Newman took strike three to start. Will Benson singled to center and Stuart Fairchild singled to right to move Benson to third. Friedl beat out a double play ball to score Benson to give Cincinnati the lead. McClain took strike three to end the inning with the Reds up 1-0.
Safe...but not by much
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the second as Masataka Yoshida walked to start. Jarren Duran doubled to center but Triston Casas grounded out to second. Kike Hernandez walked to load the bases but Enmanuel Valdez struck out swinging and Reese McGuire lined out to short to end the inning.
India grounded out to short to start the top of the third before Fraley grounded out to second. Hernandez threw a ball by Stephenson away for an error and Steer got a base hit to right to move Tyler to third. Newman lined out to a running Yoshida to end the inning. Tapia flied out to left to start the bottom of the third before Devers flied out to center. Turner grounded out to third to end the inning.
Benson tripled to left to start the top of the fourth but Fairchild grounded out to short. Friedl struck out swinging and McLain whiffed as well to end the inning. That was it for Bello who tossed 4 innings allowing just 1 run, but took 97 pitches to do it.
Jose Barrero came in for Friedl to start the bottom of the fourth as Yoshida grounded out to second to start. Duran and Casas both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Justin Garza came in to pitch the top of the fifth and India singled to left to start. Fraley doubled to center to score India just like that. Stephenson struck out swinging and Steer grounded out to short to move Fraley to third. Newman grounded out to second to end the inning with the Reds up 2-0.
The Sox blew it again in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez got a base hit to center to start. Valdez and McGuire both struck out swinging, but Tapia doubled to center. Hernandez tried to score from first but was thrown out at home to end the inning.
The Reds got another run in the top of the sixth as Benson got a base hit to right to start. A wild pitch moved Benson to second and Fairchild struck out swinging. Barrero walked and McLain hit a grounder to Hernandez who turned and spiked the ball like a football, doing a backflip for an error that scored Benson. Indian popped up to first and that was it for Garza. Joely Rodriguez struck Fraley out swinging to end the inning with the Reds up 3-0.
Bad throw by Hernandez
Devers struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Turner grounded out to third. Yoshida got a base hit to center and that was it for Lively. Alex Young got Duran to line out to right to end the inning.
The Reds looked to have put the game away in the top of the seventh as Stephenson walked to start. Steer got a base hit to left and Newman walked to load the bases. Benson forced Stephenson at home but Fairchild walked to score Steer. Barrero then pounded a grand slam into the Charles River to increase the lead. That was it for Rodriguez as Ryan Sherriff came in to get McLain to line out to third. India struck out swinging to end the inning with the Reds up 8-0.
That should do it
The Reds looked to have put the game away in the top of the seventh as Stephenson walked to start. Steer got a base hit to left and Newman walked to load the bases. Benson forced Stephenson at home but Fairchild walked to score Steer. Barrero then pounded a grand slam into the Charles River to increase the lead. That was it for Rodriguez as Ryan Sherriff came in to get McLain to line out to third. India struck out swinging to end the inning with the Reds up 8-0.
Suddenly the Sox rallied in the bottom of the seventh against Fernando Cruz on the mound. Casas grounded out to first before Hernandez struck out swinging. Valdez got a base hit in the hole at third and McGuire doubled to center to score Enmanuel. Tapia then tripled into the right field corner to score McGuire and Devers drilled a base hit to right to score Raimel. Turner flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 8-3.
Naturally the bullpen couldn't hold it down in the top of the eighth as Fraley grounded back to the mound to start. Stephenson tripled into the centerfield triangle and scored on the Steer sac fly to left. Newman grounded out to first to end the inning with the Reds up 9-3.
Reds score again
Buck Farmer came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Yoshida got a base hit to center to start. Duran grounded out to second to move Masataka to second but Yoshida got doubled off on the bullet to right by Casas to end the inning.
Benson popped up to short to start the top of the ninth and Fairchild struck out swinging. Barrero singled to left and McLain flied out to center to end the inning. Eduardo Salazar came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Hernandez lined out to right to start. The Sox rallied when Valdez walked, McGuire doubled him to third and Tapia got a base hit to right to score Enmanuel. Devers got a base hit to center to score McGuire and send Tapia to third and Turner got a base hit to right to score Raimel. Alexis Diaz came in to pitch and Yoshida doubled to center to score Devers, representing the tying run. Pablo Reyes ran for Yoshida and Duran grounded out to short to score Turner, sending Reyes to third. Unfortunately Casas struck out swinging to end the game. The Reds had won 9-8.
Reds win
Jackass Rodriguez
Enmanuel Valdez was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 rbis.
Jackass of the Night is Joely Rodriguez. He allowed 5 runs including a grand slam to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Raimel Tapia was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and 3 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Masataka Yoshida was 3 for 4 with a walk and an rbi.
Enmanuel Valdez was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 rbis.
Reese McGuire was 2 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
The Bad:
Triston Casas was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Justin Garza allowed 2 runs in 1 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Justin Turner was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3 with a walk but struck out and committed an error.
Brayan Bello took the loss but allowed just 1 run in 4 innings.
Ryan Sherriff allowed a run in 2 2/3 innings.
Honorable Mention:
Pablo Reyes pinch ran for Yoshida in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
This game was a microcosm of the season with the bullpen failing to keep the game close and the Sox being unable to land the knockout punch. The Sox damn near erased a 9-3 deficit but fell one base short. It shouldn't have gotten to that point if Bello didn't nibble for 4 innings to drive up his pitch count. It also would help if Justin Garza and Joely Rodriguez didn't vomit up their intestines. It also didn't help THAT is who the Sox have to rely on because Chaim Bloom neglected the bullpen in the off-season. After running The A-Team into the ground in 2021, the bullpen imploded at the end of 2022. Kenley Jansen and John Schreiber can't save them every day. Just another reason why Bloom shouldn't be here. Kudos to the offense for damn near pulling off the upset without Alex Verdugo and Trevor Story, just was just too big a hole to dig out of. The loss dropped the Sox to 28-26, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound night against the Reds when James Paxton takes on Luke Weaver of Cincinnati. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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