Just when you thought the season couldn't get any worse for the Boston Red Sox, it did. Not only did the Red Sox rally down 5-1 only to blow it in the ninth and lose to the Cleveland Guardians in extra innings, they lost Garrett Whitlock and Rafael Devers too. Whitlock left with an oblique strain after just four innings and the tired Boston bullpen was hammered for eight runs after he left. The Guardians broke out to a 2-0 lead before Whitlock left then took a 5-1 lead on Joely Rodriguez. A furious Sox rally in the sixth gave the Sox a 6-5 lead but Kenley Jansen blew the game in the ninth inning. Greg Weissert and Josh Winckowski allowed four runs in the tenth and eleventh as the Sox woes continued, dropping into last place in the AL East 10-7 in 11 innings at Fenway Park.
Whitlock got the ball in the top of the first and Steven Kwan flied out to right to start. Andres Gimenez flied out to left and Jose Ramirez grounded out to first to end the inning. Bibee got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran grounded out to third to start. Rafael Devers flied out to right and Masataka Yoshida grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Guardians struck first in the top of the second as Josh Naylor grounded out to second to start. Bo Naylor lined out to Enmanuel Valdez but Ramon Laureano walked. Will Brennan hit a double to right to score Laureano and put the Guardians up for good just two innings into the game. Gabriel Arias doubled to left to ice the game by scoring Brennan. Tyler Freeman took strike three to end the inning but the game was already over, 2-0 Guardians.
The Sox stupidity reared its ugly head in the bottom of the second as Triston Casas smacked a double off the Monster.....only to get picked off. Wilyer Abreu popped up to second but Valdez got a base hit into right field. Connor Wong got a base hit to left but David Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Bad defense reared its ugly head in the top of the third inning as Kwan hit a blooper to Valdez that bounced off Valdez' glove. Kwan thought the ball was caught then made a mad dash to first base. The throw came in but Casas failed to get his glove down in time for a technical "single". Gimenez dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Kwan to second but Ramirez flied out to left. Josh Naylor grounded out to first to end the inning. Ceddanne Rafaela popped up to first to start the bottom of the second and Duran flied out to left. Somehow Devers drew a walk but Yoshida lined out to second to end the inning.
Bo Naylor grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth before Laureano grounded out to short. Brennan flied out to center to end the inning. All of a sudden Whitlock started clutching his shoulder and had to be carried out on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to Mass General's ICU. He lasted four innings throwing 54 pitches and allowed two runs.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Casas grounded out to third to start. Abreu struck out swinging but somehow Valdez pounded his second home run of the season to cut the lead. Wong struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
Joely Rodriguez came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Arias struck out swinging to start. Freeman then hit a home run all the way into Manchester, New Hampshire to increase the deficit. Kwan ripped a base hit to left and moved to third on the base hit to right by Gimenez. Ramirez hit a sac fly to center to score Kwan and Josh Naylor got a base hit to right....booted by Abreu. Gimenez came all the way around but was thrown out at home to end the inning with the Guardians up 4-1....but wait! Guardians manager Stephen Vogt challenged that Wong missed the tag and sure enough, he did. Gimenez was safe and the inning continued, but Bo Naylor took strike three to end the inning with the Guardians up 5-1.
Hamilton grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Rafaela flied out to left. Duran doubled to left and Devers walked, but Yoshida popped up to third to end the inning.
Laureano grounded out to third to start the top of the sixth before Brennan grounded out to first. Arias took strike three to end the inning. Somehow the Sox exploded in the bottom of the sixth with Tyler Beede now on the mound. Casas crushed his fifth home run of the season to cut the lead and Abreu drew a walk. Valdez struck out swinging but Wong mashed his second home run of the season to get the Sox back in the game. That was it for Beede as Cade Smith came in to strike out Hamilton swinging but Rafaela doubled to center. Duran walked and Devers cleared the bases with a double into the gap in center to put the Sox on top. Yoshida flied out to left to end the inning but the Sox had rallied to take a 6-5 lead.
Devers caps off the rally
Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Freeman struck out swinging to start. Kwan walked but Gimenez forced him at second. A wild pitch moved Gimenez to second and Ramirez was intentionally walked. Josh Naylor took strike three to end the inning. Eli Morgan came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Casas walked to start. Abreu forced Triston at second but Wilyer stole second. Valdez flied out to center and Wong grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Bobby Dalbec took over for Devers who jammed his knee running to second with Chris Martin now on the mound for the top of the eighth. Bo Naylor lined out to center and Estevan Florial pinch hit for Laureano, grounding out to first. Brennan lined out to right to end the inning. Hamilton got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the bottom of the eighth but Rafaela struck out swinging. Duran went down hacking and Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning.
Kenley Jansen came in to close out the top of the ninth with Pablo Reyes at second for Valdez. Arias lined out to center but Freeman doubled to center. Kwan got a base hit to left and Gimenez ripped a base hit to center to score Freeman to tie the game. Abreu made a great catch to rob Ramirez of extra bases and Josh Naylor forced Gimenez to end the inning with the game tied 6-6.
Gimenez ties it up
Hunter Gaddis came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Yoshida grounded out to first to start. Casas took strike three and Abreu flied out to left to end the inning.
Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the 10th with Brayan Rocchio pinch running for Josh Naylor to start. Naturally Bo Naylor singled to center and stole second base just like that. Florial popped up to third and Brennan was walked to set up the double play....only for Arias to get a base hit to center to score Rocchio. Freeman flied out to left and Kwan grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Guardians ahead 7-6.
Emmanuel Clase came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Abreu starting at second. Reyes grounded out to short to move Abreu to third and Wong hit a sac fly to right to score Abreu to tie the game. Hamilton doubled to left and took third on a wild pitch to put the winning run at third. Rafaela flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 7-7.
Josh Winckowski came in to take a beating in the top of the eleventh with Kwan starting at second base. Gimenez walked and Ramirez hit a base hit to center to score Kwan. Rocchio moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt and Bo Naylor was intentionally walked to load the bases. Naturally Florial singled to right to ice the game, scoring Gimenez and Ramirez. Brennan grounded out to second to move the runners over but Arias struck out swinging to end the inning with the Guardians up 10-7.
Ramirez with the dagger
Scott Barlow came in to pitch the bottom of the eleventh with Rafaela starting at second. Duran flied out to right before Dalbec was booed out of Fenway for striking out swinging. Yoshida also went down hacking to end the game. The Guardians had won it 10-7 in 11 innings.
Cleveland wins
Jackass Jansen
Jackass of the Night is Kenley Jansen. The Sox don't blow it in extras if he didn't blow the game in the ninth inning.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 rbis before leaving with injuries.
Triston Casas was 2 for 4 with a walk and a home run.
Enmanuel Valdez was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Connor Wong was 2 for 4 with a home run and three total rbis.
David Hamilton was 2 for 5.
Garrett Whitlock left with injury but allowed just 2 runs in four innings of work, He allowed 3 hits and a walk.
Brennan Bernardino tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 6 with a strikeout.
Pablo Reyes was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Joely Rodriguez allowed 3 runs in 2 innings of work.
Greg Weissert allowed a run in the 10th inning.
Josh Winckowski took the loss allowing 3 runs in the 11th inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but walked, stole a base and scored two runs.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
So far the Boston Red Sox have lost Lucas Giolito, Trevor Story and Nick Pivetta for the season and the Injured List has Vaughn Grissom, Rob Refsnyder, Isaiah Campbell, Romy Gonzalez on it already. Whitlock has an oblique strain, Tyler O'Neill has a concussion, Devers has a bad knee and Jansen has been claiming a bad back. The bottom line is Alex Cora came into this season completely unprepared physically and mentally with all the errors the team makes not only on the stat sheet but the ones that won't show up. How can THIS many guys get hurt just 18 games into the season and lead the league in errors? A lot of the blame falls on the players and you can't judge freak accidents like Story or O'Neill, but still. The bullpen is already exhausted with Cora pulling guys early just like he did in 2021 but he doesn't have The A-Team to bail his sorry ass out this time. Attendance is beginning to drop at Fenway as none of the games besides Opening Day and Patriots Day have come anywhere close to selling out. As long as the owners don't care, why should the fans? The general manager and pitching coach put together a pitching program that's getting guys hurt, the owners put the general manager on a budget so he can't just go out and get guys to plug in and the manager has to manage this lame duck roster. Its an organizational mess from top to bottom and a cautionary tale of what happens when owners simply stop caring. The Sox look to avoid the sweep tomorrow night against the Guardians when Tanner Houck (2-1, 2.04 ERA) takes on Ben Lively of Cleveland. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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