As for the game, get a good look at this roster Red Sox fans because THIS is what you're paying the highest prices in the league to watch. With devastating injuries to 1/3 of the roster before the first 20 games have been played, the Sox had to go with their bench and an "opener" in today's game against the Cleveland Guardians. Naturally, they failed. Cooper Criswell (0-1, 4.26 ERA) was handed a 1-0 lead and promptly pissed it away due to two errors in the field. Joe Jacques allowed another run and the Sox couldn't overcome it. The Sox did rally to make a game of it but ultimately fell short, 5-4 at Fenway Park.
Brennan Bernardino got the ball in the top of the first inning and Andres Gimenez grounded out to short to start. David Fry grounded out to short and Jose Ramirez took strike three to end the inning. Carrasco got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran walked to start. Duran swiped second and Triston Casas comically slid into first on a ball that struck the first base bag to put runners at the corners. Wilyer Abreu beat out a double play ball to score Duran with the first run. Enmanuel Valdez got a base hit to center but Connor Wong struck out swinging. David Hamilton drew a walk to load the bases but Pablo Reyes flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Josh Naylor popped up to short to start the top of the second but Tyler Freeman walked. Bernardino picked off Freeman and Bo Naylor struck out swinging to end the inning. Short and sweet for Bernardino who did well as the "opener".
Reese McGuire grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second and Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging. Gimenez booted a grounder by Duran but Casas grounded out to second to end the inning.
Cooper Criswell came in to pitch the top of the third inning and things immediately fell apart. Ramon Laureano grounded out to third and Hamilton booted a grounder by Gabriel Arias for an error. Arias moved to second on the Rocchio grounder to first and scored on the Gimenez base hit to left. Gimenez was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double but the game was tied 1-1.
Arias booted a grounder by Abreu to start the bottom of the third but Valdez flied out to right. Wong popped up to short and Hamilton flied out to center to end the inning.
Fry doubled to left to start the top of the fourth and moved to third on the Ramirez liner to Abreu. Josh Naylor ripped a base hit to right to score Fry and it looked like Freeman banged into a double play but the umpire ruled safe at first. Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call but the call was upheld. Bo Naylor lined out to center to end the inning with the Guardians up for good 2-1.
Reyes flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth but McGuire walked. Rafaela and Duran both struck out swinging to end the inning.
The comedy continued in the top of the fifth as Reyes threw a routine grounder by Laureano away for an error. Laureano ended up on second and he moved to third on the Arias fly out to right. Rocchio walked and that was it for Criswell. Joe Jacques of all people came in and Gimenez effortlessly singled to left to score Laureano. Fry was hit with a pitch to load the bases and Ramirez beat out a double play ball to score Rocchio. Ramirez stole second but Josh Naylor was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning with the Guardians up 4-1.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fifth as Casas struck out swinging to start. Abreu doubled to right but Valdez lined out to third. Abreu got thrown out at third on a grounder by Wong to end the inning.
The Guardians kept it up in the top of the sixth as Freeman doubled to center to start. A wild pitch moved Freeman to third but Bo Naylor grounded out to second with the infield pulled in. Laureano then ripped a base hit to left to score Freeman anyway. Arias and Rocchio both struck out swinging to end the inning with the Guardians up 5-1.
The Sox sprang to life in the bottom of the sixth although Hamilton's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Carrasco. Reyes grounded out to third but McGuire got a base hit to center to chase Carrasco. Cade Smith came in to pitch and Rafaela ripped a base hit to center. Suddenly Duran tripled into the centerfield triangle and scored on a balk by Smith. Casas took strike three to end the inning but the Sox were only down 5-4.
Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Gimenez popped up to third to start. Fry grounded out to first and Ramirez flied out to center to end the inning. Tim Herrin came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Abreu struck out swinging to start. Rob Refsnyder made his season debut pinch hitting for Valdez....only to strike out swinging. Wong popped up to first to end the inning,
Josh Naylor grounded out to first to start the top of the eighth before Freeman grounded out to third. Bo Naylor got a base hit to right but Laureano took strike three to end the inning. Hunter Gaddis came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Hamilton grounded out to second to start. Reyes took strike three and McGuire grounded out to short to end the inning.
Chris Martin came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Arias struck out swinging to start. Rocchio got a base hit to right and Gimenez banged into a double play to end the inning. Emmanuel Chase came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Rafaela lined out to right to start. Duran grounded out to second and Casas struck out swinging to end the inning. The Guardians had won it 5-4.
Jackass of the Night is Cooper Criswell. Even with the errors he still was charged with four runs in just 2 1/3 innings.
The Good:
Enmanuel Valdez was 1 for 3.
Reese McGuire was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Brennan Bernardino tossed two scoreless innings as the opener.
Justin Slaten tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Rob Refsnyder struck out as a pinch hitter.
Joe Jacques allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings.
Connor Wong was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Pablo Reyes was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked, drove in two runs, stole a base and scored twice.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
David Hamilton was 0 for 3 with an error but walked.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Attendance to this game was 35,494 and all of them need their heads examined for paying the highest prices in the league for a minor league team. Injuries are part of the game but there's about six guys on the team that wouldn't be anywhere close had the Sox not suffered catastrophic injuries to Trevor Story, Lucas Giolito, Nick Pivetta and Tyler O'Neill. Guys like Rafael Devers, Garrett Whitlock and Vaughn Grissom being out is unfortunate and even AAA backup Romy Gonzalez didn't even last a week before spraining his wrist. Its all adding up to a team that's badly outgunned every single game. If it wasn't for Tanner Houck turning into Roger Clemens last night, the Sox would have gone 2-8 on the homestand against beatable competition. As it is, they finished their first homestand 3-7 and didn't look good in two of the games they won. With the starting rotation down to Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and "hold on to your asses", this is not a recipe for success. Whitlock will be back in a few weeks but they still don't have permanent replacements for Giolito and Pivetta. Things are falling apart real quick but with 35,000 people in the stands, Sam Kennedy and John Henry are laughing all the way to the bank. The Sox now travel to Pittsburgh for a three game set with the Pirates. Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.92 ERA) takes on Captain TBD of Pittsburgh at 6:40 PM at PNC Park.
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