The bad news was the Boston Bruins lost Game 5 of their first round NHL playoff series to the Toronto Maple Leafs but the good news was the Boston Red Sox defeated the San Francisco Giants. Here comes Garrett Cooper......anddddd he's gone. In what overshadowed tonight's win, newly acquired 1st baseman Cooper was hit on the wrist and had to leave tonight's game in his Sox debut. The dark cloud on this team continues although Cooper Criswell (2-1, 1.65 ERA) picked up his team. He tossed 5 shutout innings while the Sox scratched out four runs off Logan Webb and the Giants bullpen. Rob Refsnyder drove in two runs while the red hot Wilyer Abreu had an rbi triple. Jarren Duran broke out of his slump with three hits and an rbi to pace the attack. The Sox bullpen preserved the shutout the rest of the way and the Sox had won the game 4-0 at Fenway Park.
Criswell got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jung Hoo Lee grounded out to first to start. LaMonte Wade Jr flied out to left and Matt Chapman popped up to first to end the inning. Webb got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran got a base hit to left to start. Rafael Devers immediately grounded into a double play but Tyler O'Neill got a base hit to right. Wilyer Abreu walked and Rob Refsnyder got a base hit to center to score O'Neill. Enmanuel Valdez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Michael Conforto grounded out to short to start the top of the second and Patrick Bailey grounded out to second. Jorge Soler watched strike three go by to end the inning. Garrett Cooper made his Sox debut in the bottom of the second by taking strike three right down the middle. Reese McGuire walked and stole second before moving to third on the grounder to second by Ceddanne Rafaela. Duran got a base hit to center to score McGuire and Devers got a base hit to left. O'Neill grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Thairo Estrada struck out swinging to begin the top of the third and Mike Yastrzemski struck out swinging as well. Nick Ahmed went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Abreu doubled to left and scored on the Refsnyder base hit to right. Valdez flied to center and Cooper struck out swinging, but McGuire walked. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Lee grounded out to first to start the top of the fourth but Wade Jr walked. Chapman grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Duran got a base hit to left to open. Duran stole second and moved to third on the Devers grounder to second. O'Neill was frozen for strike three but Abreu tripled into the right field corner to score Duran. That was it for Webb as Sean Hjelle struck Refsnyder out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Conforto got a base hit to right to break up the no-hitter in the top of the fifth but Bailey grounded into a double play. Soler singled to left and Estrada lined out to left to end the inning. That was it for Criswell who was great in his limited role, pitching 5 shutout innings while allowing 2 hits and a walk while striking out four.
Things went south in the bottom of the fifth as Valdez got a base hit to right to begin. Cooper then got hit in the wrist with a fastball and had to leave the game. Bobby Dalbec pinch ran for Cooper and McGuire dropped down a bunt to move the runners over. Rafaela hit a grounder to first but Valdez was thrown out at the plate. It looked like Duran beat out an infield single but the Giants challenged the call. Sure enough, the call was overturned and Duran wad out to end the inning. 
Why can't we ever have nice things?
Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Yaz was hit with a pitch in retaliation. Ahmed forced Yaz at second and Lee flied out to center to chase Bernardino. Greg Weissert got Wade Jr to ground out to first to end the inning. Wilmer Flores took over for Wade with Taylor Rogers on the mound for the bottom of the sixth. Devers walked but O'Neill struck out swinging. Abreu struck out swinging and Refsnyder forced Devers at second to end the inning.
Chapman struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh and Conforto also went down hacking. Bailey watched strike three go by to end the inning. Landen Roupp came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Valdez struck out swinging to start. Dalbec was hit with a pitch and promptly stole second. McGuire and Rafaela both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Soler struck out swinging to start. Rafaela booted a grounder by Estrada for an error and Thaito stole second. Yaz struck out swinging and Ahmed popped up to short to end the inning. Duran walked to start the bottom of the eighth before Devers walked as well. It looked like O'Neill hit into a triple play but Sox manager Alex Cora challenged Tyler was safe. Tyler was ruled safe and Abreu got a base hit to right. Refsnyder struck out swinging to end the inning.
Justin Slaten came on to close out the top of the ninth and Lee flied out to right to start. Flores singled to center and Chapman singled to center as well. Conforto beat out a double play ball to keep the game going but Bailey struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-0.
Hero of The Night is Rob Refsnyder. He drove in 2 big runs including the go-ahead run.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 3 for 4 with a walk, rbi, stolen base and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Wilyer Abreu was 3 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was hit with a pitch and stole a base.
Reese McGuire walked twice and scored a run.
Cooper Criswell tossed 5 shutout innings to earn the win. He allowed 2 hits and a walk while striking out four batters.
Brennan Bernardino got the first two outs of the sixth inning.
Greg Weissert pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
The Ugly:
Tyler O'Neill was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Enmanuel Valdez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Garrett Cooper was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox continue to lose players but are starting to win a few games. This was their third win in a row and for a team decimated by injury and not expected to compete this year, they've had a remarkable April. Some of their guns are out for the year and some for a long time, but the team they put on the field has a lot of heart. Guys like Connor Wong and Abreu have gotten off to a hot start and once Duran busts out of his slump, that's three guys to join established bats like Devers and O'Neill to give the Sox some punch. The other side of the ball has been the story this season and definitely tonight. Criswell was picked up off the scrap heap and he's pitched great since he's been called up. The bullpen once again didn't give an inch and to a man, all of them have roles they've been good at. The left/right combo of Bernardino and Weissert has been getting it done and Justin Slaten is pulling a 2021 Garrett Whitlock. If Chris Martin can shake off his recent failure and Kenley Jansen's back holds up, they can shorten games considerably....as long as Cora doesn't burn them out like he did the 2021 bullpen. All in all it was a good win and the Sox end the month of April on a high note. The win improved the Sox to 17-13, 2.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it four wins in a row and two straight against San Francisco tomorrow night when Kutter Crawford (1-1, 1.35 ERA) takes on Captain TBD of the Giants. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment