What can you say about the state of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park this season? After going 7-3 on the road, the Boston Red Sox came home and fell flat on their face against the Baltimore Orioles, culminating in an embarrassing three game sweep. The Sox took a quick 2-0 lead out of the gate against Grayson Rodriguez but Garrett Whitlock once again was pulled after 5 innings and just 1 run allowed. Forcing the bullpen to throw five innings backfired as the O's rallied in the eighth inning to take the lead. Connor Wong hit his first home run of the season to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth and off to extras we went. Gunnar Henderson hit a backbreaking two run homer immediately off Isaiah Campbell and Colton Cowser hit a three run bomb later to score six total runs. The Sox got a measly run in the bottom of the frame as the O's completed the three game sweep with a 9-4 victory at Fenway Park.
Whitlock got the ball in the top of the first and Gunnar Henderson popped up to short to start. Adley Rutschman flied out to center and Anthony Santander flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Rodriguez in the bottom of the first when Jarren Duran led off with a double to center. Tyler O'Neill lined out to right but Duran moved to third. Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second to score Duran to put the Sox on top. Triston Casas hit a ground rule double down the right field line and scored on the Wilyer Abreu double off the Monster. Enmanuel Valdez walked but Reese McGuire flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Ryan O'Hearn grounded out to third to start the top of the second but Ryan Mountcastle got a base hit to right. Cedric Mullins lined out to right but Colton Cowser doubled to left. Jordan Westburg struck out swinging to end the inning. David Hamilton struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Pablo Reyes grounded out to short. Duran lined out to center to end the inning.
Jackson Holliday grounded out to first to open the top of the third before Henderson struck out swinging. Rutschman singled to left but Santander grounded out to second to end the inning. O'Neill grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third but Yoshida singled to center. Casas struck out swinging and Abreu grounded out to first to end the inning.
O'Hearn walked to start the top of the fourth but Mountcastle grounded into a double play. Mullins lined out to center to end the inning. Valdez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before McGuire took strike three. Hamilton got a base hit to right and stole second, but Reyes popped up to third to end the inning.
The O's fought back in the top of the fifth as Cowser hit a home run all the way into the Potomac River to start. Westburg walked and stole second on the Holliday strike out swinging. Henderson went down hacking and Rutschman flied out to center to end the inning with the O's down 2-1. That was it for Whitlock who was pulled after just 85 pitches, he allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out four.
Duran struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth but O'Neill walked. Yoshida flied out to right and Casas grounded out to second to end the inning.
Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Santander lined out to left to start. O'Hearn popped up to short and Mountcastle took strike three to end the inning. Somehow Abreu got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Valdez flied out to left. McGuire flied out to right and that was it for Rodriguez. Jacob Webb came in to pitch to Hamilton and David grounded out to second to end the inning.
Slaten returned for the top of the seventh and Mullins walked to start. Cowser looked to have hit into a double play but O's manager Brandon Hyde challenged that Cowser was safe. The call on the field was upheld and Westburg flied out to center to end the inning. Reyes grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh before Duran flied out to left. O'Neill struck out swinging to end the inning.
Ceddanne Rafaela took over for second for Valdez with Joely Rodriguez now on the mound for the top of the eighth and Reyes booted a grounder by Holliday to start. Henderson took strike three and Holliday moved to second on a grounder to second by Rustchman. Sox manager Alex Cora then pulled Rodriguez in favor of Greg Weissert. The gamble backfired as Santander hit a home run all the way to Death Valley, California to give the O's the lead. O'Hearn grounded out to second to end the inning with the O's up 3-2.
Austin Hays took over for Santander with Danny Coulombe now on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Yoshida and Casas both grounded out to second and Connor Wong pinch hit for Abreu. The gamble worked as Wong belted his first home run of the season to tie the game. Yennier Cano came in to face Rafaela and Ceddanne grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Mountcastle popped up to second to start the top of the ninth and Kenley Jansen came in to pitch to Mullins. Cedric walked and moved to second on the Cowser grounder to second before Westburg walked. Holliday struck out swinging to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and McGuire was rung up for strike three and took a swing at home plate umpire Jeremie Rehak. McGuire was thrown out of the game with the Sox having no bench players left, great thinking! Hamilton grounded out to second and Reyes flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox had to give up the DH by putting Wong behind the plate and Isaiah Campbell took over on the mound for the top of the tenth. Holliday started at second and naturally, Henderson hit a home run all the way to San Jose to put the O's up for good. Rutschman flied out to center and Hays took strike three, but O'Hearn doubled to left. A wild pitch moved O'Hearn to third and Mountcastle walked. Mullins ripped a base hit to center to score O'Hearn and Cowser hit a home run all the way to Africa as Fenway erupted in boo's. Westburg grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the O's up 9-3.
Mike Baumann came in to mop up the bottom of the tenth with Reyes starting at second. Right on cue Duran doubled to center to score Reyes meaning if Campbell had just given up the home run and nothing else, the Sox would have had a chance. Instead O'Neill flied out to right and Yoshida grounded out to first to move Duran to third. Casas grounded out to first to end the game. The O's had won it 9-4 in 10 innings.
Jackass of the Night is Isaiah Campbell. He allowed two home runs and SIX runs in the top of the 10th
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 3 with an rbi.
Connor Wong hit a pinch hit home run.
Garrett Whitlock tossed 5 innings of 1 run ball allowing four hits and 2 walks while striking out four.
Justin Slaten tossed two scoreless innings.
Kenley Jansen got the final two outs of the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and got ejected.
Greg Weissert allowed a 2 run bomb in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Tyler O'Neill was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but drew a walk.
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base.
Pablo Reyes was 0 for 4 with an error but scored a run.
Joely Rodriguez was charged with an unearned run in 2/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
That was absolutely pathetic. Apart from the Connor Wong home run and needing a ghost runner in the 10th, the Boston offense was shut down virtually the entire night. Before Isaiah Campbell and Greg Weissert crapped their pants, not getting enough hits was the root cause of the problem. If they had been able to score three or four more runs, this game might have been over. The formula for the season is starting to take shape for opposing teams. Just wait for Cora to pull the starter after five innings then pounce on the bullpen. Its worked almost every time this year. Cora butt kissers are trying to say "lmao you want the starters to blow their arms out in April? Lmao" and the response is, if their arms are gonna fall off after throwing 90-95 pitches then what good are they? We used to squawk at Joe Kerrigan pulling guys at 90-100 pitches even when they were dealing but Cora is even worse. Unfortunately the problem may fix itself because Cora's contract is up at the end of the season and it doesn't seem like he's going to be re-signed. Maybe Chad Tracy down in Worcester will let the starters go until they're visibly tired like managers have done for 125 years. Its all adding up to disaster and the season has only just begun. The Sox now welcome Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels in for a three game set starting tomorrow night. Tanner Houck (2-0) goes for the Sox against Reid Detmers of the Angels. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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