Would ya look at that? The Boston Red Sox actually beat an AL East team. Tanner Houck (4-5, 1.94 ERA) tossed seven innings of shutout ball against the Tampa Bay Rays to help knock them off. Rafael Devers set a Red Sox record with a home run in his sixth consecutive game while Wilyer Abreu knocked in Jarren Duran with an rbi double. Ceddanne Rafaela also struck a two run bomb to aid the cause. After Houck left, Justin Slaten slammed the door with two scoreless innings. The Sox got back to .500 on the season with a 5-0 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Rays starter Taj Bradley got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Wilyer Abreu took strike three and Tyler O'Neill struck out swinging to end the inning. Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Yandy Diaz grounded out to short to start. Josh Lowe struck out swinging and Isaac Parades flied out to center to end the inning.
Rafael Devers grounded back to the mound to start the top of the second inning but Connor Wong struck out swinging. Dominic Smith also went down hacking to end the inning. Brandon Lowe grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the second before Jonathan Aranda walked. Jonny DeLuca took strike three and Richie Palacios flied out to center to end the inning.
David Hamilton took strike three to begin the top of the third before Reese McGuire struck out swinging. Ceddanne Rafaela also went down hacking to end the inning. Bradley had struck out 8 of 9 batters to start the game. Jose Caballero grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third before Ben Rortvedt grounded out to short. Diaz got a base hit to right but Abreu threw him out at second trying to stretch a double to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth as Duran tripled to left to begin. Abreu doubled down the first base line to score Duran with the go-ahead run but O'Neill lined out to center. Devers set a Red Sox record with a home run in his sixth straight game with a 2 run shot to left. Wong lined out to center and Smith took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Josh Lowe grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the fourth before Parades took strike three. Brandon Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Hamilton got a base hit to right to start. Hamilton stole second then took third on the grounder to second by McGuire. Rafaela then pounded his fifth home run of the season to increase the lead. Duran grounded out to second and Abreu popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Houck cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Aranda grounded out to third to begin. Deluca struck out swinging and Palacios lined out to right to end the inning.
O'Neill flied out to right to start the top of the sixth before Devers went down hacking. Wong grounded out to second to end the inning. Caballero lined out to center to start the bottom of the sixth before Rortvedt grounded out to first. Diaz grounded out to second to end the inning.
Smith led off the top of the seventh with a base hit to right but Hamilton lined out to center. McGuire lined out to center and Rafaela popped up to first to end the inning. Houck returned for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh as Josh Lowe got a base hit down the third base line. Parades flied out to left and Brandon Lowe grounded into a double play to end the inning. That was it for Houck who was outstanding, shutting out the Rays for 7 innings allowing just 2 hits and a walk.
Richard Lovelady came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Durran grounded out to short to start. Palacios made a great sliding catch to rob Abreu of a hit and O'Neill grounded out to short to end the inning. Justin Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Aranda grounded out to second to start. Deluca struck out swinging and Palacios took strike three to end the inning.
Old pal Erasmo Ramirez came in to pitch the top of the ninth an Devers popped up to short to start. Wong got a base hit to center then moved to second on a grounder to first by Smith. Hamilton flied out to center to end the inning. Slaten returned to close out the bottom of the ninth and Caballero singled to left. Rortvedt grounded into a double play and Diaz took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-0.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His home run broke the Sox record for homers in consecutive games and iced this game.
The Good:
Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3 with a 2 run home run.
Tanner Houck got the win with 7 shutout innings allowing just 2 hits and a walk. He also struck out five.
Justin Slaten tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Tyler O'Neill was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Dominic Smith was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Unfortunately the good news was cut short when it was announced that Garrett Whitlock had elbow ligament damage and possibly might be having a second tommy john surgery. That's horrible news considering the Sox had just started to get everyone back healthy. As of now the rotation moving forward will be Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta and Cooper Criswell. That's not exactly Mulder, Zito and Hudson but it'll have to do for now. As for this game, this was one of their best wins all season with flawless defense and timely hitting. Devers sleptwalked for most of April but has become a one man wrecking crew the last week. Its about time he erupted as Tyler O'Neill hasn't been the same since he got knocked goofy by Rafael. The Sox offense is going to determine how they do the remainder of the season and hopefully Triston Casas comes back soon. If the Sox are dead set on not bringing up Niko Kavadas, we're stuck with Dominic Smith and Garrett Cooper for a while. Also shout out to Justin Slaten for putting his cold streak in the rearview mirror with two good innings. The win improved the Sox to 24-24, 8.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rays tomorrow night when Cooper Criswell (2-1, 2.76 ERA) takes on Zack Littell of Tampa. The game begins at 6:50 PM at Tropicana Field.
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