As for the game, its one thing to lose because the other team played better, pitched better and or hit better but its another thing to lose on pure stupidity. That's what the Red Sox did against the Minnesota Twins in this game. The Sox took a 1-0 lead on Sonny Gray but the Twins took a 2-1 lead on Boston starter Garrett Whitlock. With the game tied at 3, the Sox had first and third with nobody out in the top of the sixth but Arroyo was thrown out trying to steal and the Sox didn't score. The Twins took the lead in the sixth and Alex Verdugo was thrown out trying to stretch a double in the seventh. In the eighth inning, David Hamilton made his ML debut by scoring the tying run on a Triston Casas double. In the top of the tenth, Alex Cora refused to play small ball and the Sox didn't score. Max Kepler did the honors with an rbi single off Kaleb Ort in the bottom of the tenth to win the game 5-4 in 10 innings at Targer Field.
Gray got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Alex Verdugo grounded out to first but Justin Turner walked. Turner stole second and Rafael Devers doubled to center to score Justin. Masataka Yoshida grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Whitlock got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Edouard Julien flied out to center to start. Alex Kirilloff popped up to third and Carlos Correa struck out swinging to end the inning.
Triston Casas flied out to left to start the top of the second but Christian Arroyo got a base hit to center. Reese McGuire flied out to center and Enrique Hernandez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Twins took command in the bottom of the second as Byron Buxton doubled to right to start. Max Kepler got a base hit to center to score Buxton then moved to second on a Royce Lewis grounder to second. Joey Gallo took strike three and Christian Vazquez singled off the glove of Hernandez to score Kepler. Michael Taylor popped up to first to end the inning with the Twins up 2-1.
The Sox fought back in the top of the first and Duran took strike three to start. Verdugo popped up to third but Turner belted his 11th home run of the year to tie the game. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
It looked like Julien hit a home run to start the bottom of the third but it was ruled a double at the last second. Kirilloff flied out to left to move Julien to third and Edoard scored on the grounder to third by Correa. Buxton struck out swinging to end the inning with the Twins up 3-2.
Yoshida got a base hit to center to start the top of the fourth and took second when Taylor booted the ball for an error. Casas grounded out to second to move Yoshida to third but Arroyo struck out swinging. McGuire walked but Hernandez lined out to left to end the inning. Kepler struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth but Lewis doubled to left. Lewis took third on a wild pitch but got picked off by Whitlock. Gallo took strike three to end the inning.
Gallo and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli were so irate they both grabbed samurai swords and chased home plate umpire David Rackley into the Twins bullpen, getting ejected from the game. When play resumed Willi Castro took over in left for the top of the fifth. Duran took strike three but Verdugo tripled to right. Turner got a base hit to center to score Verdugo but Devers struck out swinging. Yoshida flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Vazquez flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth and Taylor took strike three. Julien singled to center and Kirilloff did the same, but Correa forced Kirilloff at second to end the inning.
Brock Stewart came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Casas singled to center to start. Arroyo got a base hit to right to move Triston to third and everything went to hell. Connor Wong pinch hit for McGuire and Arroyo was foolishly thrown out at second trying to steal. Wong and Hernandez both struck out swinging to end the inning. The Twins struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Buxton popped up to short to start. Kepler then hit a home run all the way to Indiana to put Minnesota ahead again. Lewis lined out to left and Castro popped up to third to end the inning with the Twins up 4-3.
Kyle Farmer came in for Julien and Griffin Jax came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Duran's bunt was snuffed put by Jax to start. Verdugo got a base hit to center but was foolishly thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Turner flied out to right to end the inning. Whitlock came back for the bottom of the seventh and Vazquez lined out to center to start. Taylor grounded out to first and Farmer grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Whitlock who got tagged for 4 runs off 8 hits but lasted 7 innings.
The Sox rallied in the top of the eighth with Jhoan Duran now on the mound. Devers grounded out to first but Yoshida walked. Speedster David Hamilton made his ML debut by running for Yoshida, promptly stealing second. Casas doubled to center to score Hamilton but Arroyo grounded out to short. Wong grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Chris Martin came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Kirilloff struck out swinging to start. Correa grounded out to second and Buxton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Hernandez to start the top of the ninth and struck out swinging. Duran struck out swinging and Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Kenley Jansen came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Kepler struck out swinging to start. Lewis popped up to third amd Castro's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Jansen to end the inning.
Jovani Moran came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Verdugo starting at second base. Rather than bunt, Turner grounded out to short to start. Devers struck out swinging and Adam Duvall pinch hit for Hamilton. Duvall was intentionally walked and Pablo Reyes ran for him. Casas struck out swinging to end the inning. Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth with Castro on second. Vazquez was intentionally walked to start and Taylor dropped down a bunt to move Castro to third. Farmer got a base hit to center to score Castro with the winning run. The Twins had won it 5-4.
Jackass of The Night should be Alex Cora but Christian Arroyo getting thrown out trying to steal with nobody out then killing the 8th inning rally didn't help.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Justin Turner was 2 for 4 with a stolen base, a walk, a home run, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 3 with a walk.
David Hamilton stole a base and stole a run as a pinch runner.
Adam Duvall walked as a pinch hitter.
Triston Casas was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
Reese McGuire walked in 2 plate appearances.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Connor Wong was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Enrique Hernandez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Rob Refsnyder struck out as a pinch hitter.
Kaleb Ort took the loss by allowing the winning run in the 10th.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Garrett Whitlock went 7 innings but allowed 4 runs off 8 hits while striking out 6.
Honorable Mention:
Pablo Reyes ran for Duvall in the 10th.
Final Thoughts:
Games like that are frustrating because running into outs and being stubborn will cost you more games than win them. Arroyo getting thrown out at second when a double play would have scored a run was ridiculous and Verdugo getting greedy was big too. The worst was the 10th inning when Turner should have dropped down a bunt. Sox manager Alex Cora when asked said "We play for two, not one." That's a slap in the face to the bullpen thinking they can't get 3 outs without giving up the ghost runner and also extremely foolish, especially on the road when you get first dibs. Whitlock looked mortal in this one after two consecutive great starts but he still went 7. If he can keep up this pace, he can team with Chris Sale and James Paxton nicely. Hopefully tomorrow the Sox can clean up the mess because they can't afford to lose too many games like that when they're in last place. The loss dropped the Sox to 39-36, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon and take the series against the Twins when Justin Garza (0-1) is the "opener" for the Sox against Joe Ryan of Minnesota. The game begins at 1:10 PM eastern time at Target Field.
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