Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Tyler O'Neill was placed on the Injured List with a bad knee and Enmanuel Valdez was called up from Worcester to take his place. O'Neill has looked awful at the plate lately so this is more addition by subtraction. Hope he feels better soon.
So much for beating the Baltimore Orioles. The Boston Red Sox were defeated by a real ace and their impotent offense was shut completely down. Corbin Burnes held the Sox to just 1 unearned run through 7 innings and 3 measly hits. Meanwhile Kutter Crawford (2-4, 3.29 ERA) crashed down to earth as he got rocked for 5 runs in the bottom of the second courtesy of a Gunnar Henderson grand slam. Chase Anderson allowed a home run to Ramon Urias as the inept Sox offense accomplished nothing else. The O's had taken two of three with their 5-1 victory at Camden Yards.
Burnes began his dominance in the top of the first inning when Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging and Rob Refsnyder flied out to center to end the inning. Crawford got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Gunnar Henderson took strike three to start. Ryan Mountcastle lined out to right and Ryan O'Hearn struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Rafael Devers grounded out to third to start. Connor Wong lined a base hit to left and Colton Cowser threw the ball away, allowing Connor to reach second. Burnes had Wong picked off but Henderson dropped the throw for another error. Dominic Smith hit a grounder to second and Wong came all the way around to score the go-ahead run. A wild pitch moved Smith to second but Vaughn Grissom popped up to short. Smith was picked off to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The O's iced the game early in the bottom of the second as Cowser was hit with a pitch to start. Anthony Santander got a base hit to left but Cedric Mullins popped up to short. Jorge Mateo flied out to center but Ramon Urias got a base hit to center to score Cowser. James McCann walked and Henderson hit a grand slam to the moon to ice the game. Mountcastle struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up for good 5-1.
The Sox gave up in the top of the third as David Hamilton walked to start. Hamilton stole second but Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third, Duran lined out to center and Abreu flied out to right to end the inning. O'Hearn grounded back to the mound to begin the bottom of the third before Cowser flied out to center. Santander flied out to right to end the inning.
Refsnyder struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth before Devers walked. Wong struck out swinging and Smith grounded out to first to end the inning. Mullins went down hacking to start the bottom of the fourth but Mateo walked. Urias was hit with a pitch and Mateo was gunned down at third after a swinging strikeout by McCann to end the inning.
Grissom grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth but Hamilton grounded out to second. Rafaela popped up to first to end the inning. Henderson flied out to left to begin the bottom of the fifth but Mountcastle singled to center. O'Hearn forced Mountcastle at second and Cowser flied out to left to end the inning.
Duran grounded out to first to start the top of the sixth but somehow Abreu got a base hit to right. Refsnyder forced Abreu at second and Devers flied out to left to end the inning. Santander grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the sixth and Mullins grounded out to second. Mateo flied out to right to end the inning. That was it for Crawford who had one bad inning but it was a killer, allowing 5 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks.
Wong caught the O's asleep with a bunt single down the third base line to start the top of the seventh. Smith grounded back to the mound to move Wong to second and Grissom walked....but Hamilton lined out to left. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. Chase Anderson came in to get tagged in the bottom of the seventh as Urias hit a home run all the way to North Korea to wrap up the scoring. Abreu made a great diving catch to rob McCann of a double before Henderson took strike three. Mountcastle got a base hit to center but O'Hearn hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the O's up 6-1.
Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Duran. Gonzalez struck out swinging and Garrett Cooper pinch hit for Abreu. Cooper popped up to second but Refsnyder got a base hit to left. Devers popped up to third to end the inning. Enmanuel Valdez came in for Cooper to start the bottom of the eighth and Cowser flied out to center to start. Santander flied out to right and Mullins struck out swinging to end the inning.
Dillon Tate came in to close out the top of the ninth and Wong grounded out to third to start. Smith popped up to short but Grissom got a base hit to right. Hamilton got a base hit to center to move Grissom to third but Rafaela forced David at second to end the game. The O's had won it 6-1.
O's win
Jackass Crawford
Romy Gonzalez struck out as a pinch hitter.
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but walked.
Jackass of The Night is Kutter Crawford. He got rocked for 5 runs in 6 innings including the backbreaking grand slam.
The Good:
Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 3.
Connor Wong was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Vaughn Grissom was 1 for 3 with a walk.
David Hamilton was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Romy Gonzalez struck out as a pinch hitter.
Garrett Cooper was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but walked.
Chase Anderson allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Dominic Smith was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Enmanuel Valdez played left field in the final inning.
Final Thoughts:
The Red Sox are now 0-7 in a series against a team over .500 this season which means the Sox haven't had a season where they've beaten good teams since 2021 and 2019 before that. The worst part is the Sox have just 1 win where they've fallen behind by 3 runs and ZERO when its four. The grand slam to make it 5-1 essentially ended the game because this team can't score. They get guys on base then they completely fall apart. Tyler O'Neill (before he got hurt) and Wilyer Abreu hit a bunch of solo home runs but suddenly can't do it when there's men on base. Crawford made one mistake to Henderson (which many have done all year as well) and that was the game. The rumors are floating that the Sox are going to be sellers at the trade deadline with Kenley Jansen and Tyler O'Neill as the prime targets. The problem is they aren't going to get much for them. The Sox have plenty of organizational depth for bats, outfielders and infielders but they need pitching. Dick Fitts had a perfect game after seven innings for Worcester tonight but they don't have much depth otherwise. Chaim Bloom drafted a ton of good hitting prospects but neglected the pitching and the Sox are paying for it now. Unless they can get a pitching prospect for Jansen or O'Neill, Sox GM Craig Breslow should just fart into the phone when they call about them. Corbin Burnes shut the Sox down and that's the kind of arm the Sox are missing. Hopefully they can either trade for or draft an ace in the upcoming draft/trade deadline. The loss dropped the Sox to 28-28, 9.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now come home for a four game set with the Detroit Tigers beginning tomorrow night. Nick Pivetta (2-3, 4.20 ERA) takes the hill up against Jack Flaherty of Detroit. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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