As for the game, now that's more like it. Tanner Houck (3-1, 1.35 ERA) dazzled the Cleveland Guardians in a complete game, three hit shutout. It was the first complete game thrown by a Sox starter since Nathan Eovaldi's final game with the Red Sox. Offensively the Sox didn't do much, needing a balk by Cleveland starter Ben Lively to score a run and a Connor Wong solo home run. Houck didn't give an inch by striking out nine batters and not walking anyone. The Sox once again had no offense but Houck made up for it by pitching a gem, beating the Guardians 2-0 at Fenway Park.
The retiring Jack Edwards approves of the win
Lively is NOT happy
Wong Dong
Sox win
Sox salute our Hero
Connor Wong was 2 for 3 with a home run.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and Steven Kwan flied out to left to start. Andres Gimenez grounded out to first and Jose Ramirez grounded out to first to end the inning. Lively got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran lined out to short to start. Rafael Devers flied out to right and Triston Casas took strike three to end the inning.
Josh Naylor singled to right to start the top of the second but Will Brennan banged into a double play. Estevan Florial struck out swinging to end the inning. Wilyer Abreu walked to start the bottom of the second before stealing second on the Enmanuel Valdez swinging strikeout. Connor Wong lined out to second and David Hamilton flied out to left to end the inning.
Gabriel Arias struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Austin Hedges flied out to left. Brayan Rocchio struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Pablo Reyes singled to right to start. Ceddanne Rafaela took strike three but Duran doubled to left. Devers struck out swinging but Lively was called for a balk to score Reyes. Casas struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Kwan popped up to third to begin the top of the fourth before Gimenez grounded out to second. Ramirez got a base hit to center but Naylor grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Abreu popped up to third to start. Valdez took strike three but Wong mashed his third home run of the season to increase the lead. Hamilton lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Brennan struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Florial also went down hacking. Arias singled to right but Hedges went down hacking to end the inning. Reyes struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Rafaela flied out to center. Duran grounded out to first to end the inning.
Rocchio grounded out to first to start the top of the sixth before Kwan grounded out to second. Gimenez struck out swinging to end the inning. Nick Sandlin came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth as Devers struck out swinging to start. Casas grounded out to short and Abreu also grounded out to short to end the inning.
Houck returned for the top of the seventh and Ramirez flied out to center to start. Naylor flied out to center and Brennan also flied out to center to end the inning. Wes Parsons came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Valdez flied out to center to start. Wong got a base hit to right then moved to second on the Hamilton grounder to the mound. Reyes took strike three to end the inning.
Bobby Dalbec came in for Valdez for the top of the eighth and Florial struck out swinging to start. Arias went down hacking and Hedges grounded out to third to end the inning. Rafaela struck out swinging to start the bottom of the eighth but Duran got a base hit to right. As usual Duran got picked off and Devers struck out swinging to end the inning.
Houck came back to complete his work in the top of the ninth and Rocchio grounded out to second to start. Kwan grounded out to first and Gimenez grounded out to short to end the game. Houck threw a complete game, 3 hit shutout to beat the Guardians 2-0.
Hero of the Night is Tanner Houck. He went the distance allowing just 3 hits and no walks while striking out 9 batters.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4.
Connor Wong was 2 for 3 with a home run.
Pablo Reyes was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Triston Casas was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
David Hamilton was 0 for 3.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 2 with a walk.
Honorable Mention:
Bobby Dalbec played third in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Once again the offense did almost nothing and guys got thrown on the basepaths, but the defense didn't throw up on themselves and Houck was sensational. The game took just 1 hour and 49 minutes to finish and it was actually pretty damn good. The Sox injury woes are mounting but at least for one night Houck came to the rescue. Wong hit another home run and as sad as it sounds, he's the last link to the Mookie Betts trade (unless you count Greg Weissert) so any production out of him is a bonus at this point. Duran once again frustrates everyone by getting on base and immediately gets thrown out doing something stupid. On the injury front, Whitlock will be out a few weeks with an oblique strain but his shoulder is okay. Vaughn Grissom and Rob Refsnyder are on rehab assignments in Worcester and shockingly Nick Pivetta is resuming throwing. All in all it was a good win and these are going to come few and far between this season. The Sox look to tie this series up in the fourth game tomorrow afternoon when Captain TBD goes for the Sox against Carlos Carrasco of the Guardians. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment