It was good news all around as the Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of their second round NHL playoff series and the Boston Red Sox knocked off the Tampa Bay Rays in 12 innings. The Rays took a quick 1-0 lead off Nick Pivetta but a Dominic Smith double put the Sox ahead 2-1 after four. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a home run to increase the lead but the Rays rallied for two runs against Pivetta and Justin Slaten. In the top of the 11th, Rafaela's throwing error put the Rays on top but the Sox answered in the bottom of the inning on a Rob Refsnyder rbi. In the bottom of the 12th, Romy Gonzalez drove home Connor Wong to win the game. The Sox had won it 5-4 in 12 innings at Fenway Park.
The Rays tagged Pivetta immediately in the top of the first although Yandy Diaz popped up to first to start. Randy Arozarena struck out swinging but Josh Lowe hit a home run all the way to Maine to put the Rays up just three batters into the game. Isaac Prades flied out to center to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0.
The Sox did nothing against Civale in the bottom of the first as Jarren Duran took strike three to start. Wilyer Abreu watched strike three go by and Connor Wong lined out to center to end the inning.
Amed Rosario grounded out to second to start the top of the second before Jonny DeLuca went down hacking. Richie Palacios lined out to left to end the inning. Rafael Devers got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the second but Tyler O'Neill froze for strike three and Dominic Smith popped up to third. Vaughn Grissom flied out to center to end the inning.
Jose Caballero popped up to short to start the top of the third before Alex Jackson struck out swinging. Diaz took strike three to end the inning. Reese McGuire grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the third before Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to second. Duran took strike three to end the inning.
Arozarena grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Lowe took strike three. Parades got a base hit in the hole at short but Rosario went down hacking to end the inning. Abreu flied out to right to begin the bottom of the fourth but Wong got a base hit to right. Devers forced Wong at second with a pop up but O'Neill got a base hit to left. Somehow Smith doubled to center to score both runners to put the Sox on top. Grissom took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Deluca singled to left to start the top of the fifth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Palacios took strike three and Caballero flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as McGuire struck out swinging to start. Rafaela clobbered his fourth home run of the year to increase the lead but Duran grounded out to second. Abreu grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
The Rays chased Pivetta in the top of the sixth although Jackson took strike three to start. Diaz grounded out to third but Arozarena hit a home run all the way to Cleveland to cut the lead. Despite being just one out away from finishing the inning at 81 pitches, Sox manager Alex Cora came out to yank Pivetta at the first sign of trouble. Nick tossed 5 2/3 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits. Justin Slaten came in and immediately allowed a double to center by Lowe. Parades got a base hit to right to score Lowe to tie the game. Way to go Cora! Rosario got a base hit to short but DeLuca grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Shawn Armstrong came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth as Wong struck out swinging to start. Devers struck out swinging and O'Neill went down hacking to end the inning.
Palacios struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh and Caballero also went down hacking. Jackson lined out to right to end the inning. Phil Maton came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Smith got plunked to start. Grissom grounded into a double play and McGuire took strike three to end the inning.
Chris Martin came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Diaz took strike three. Arozarena went down hacking and Lowe almost took Martin's head off with a line drive, thankfully Chris caught it to end the inning.
"Im okay....I think" - Martin
Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Rafaela grounded out to second to start. Duran struck out swinging and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Abreu, Refsnyder got a base hit to right but Wong struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kenley Jansen came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Parades popped up to third to start. Rosario singled to center but DeLuca flied out to center. Rosario was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. Pete Fairbanks came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth as Devers grounded out to second to start. O'Neill and Smith both took strike three to end the inning.
Yerrrrr out!
Sox tie it up
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the top of the tenth with DeLuca on second to start. Palacios struck out swinging and Jonathan Aranda pinch hit for Caballero. Aranda grounded back to the mound to move DeLuca to third and Harold Ramirez pinch hit for Jackson. Ramirez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Ben Rortvedt came in to catch with Jason Adam now on the mound for the bottom of the tenth. Romy Gonzalez pinch ran for Smith at second and was immediately doubled off on a liner to Adam by Grissom. McGuire was retired on a nubber in front of the plate to end the inning.
The Rays struck in the top of the eleventh with Rortvedt starting at second. Diaz grounded out to first to move Rortvedt to third and Arozarena hit a ground ball to third. Rortvedt was thrown out at home in a rundown but Arozarena moved to second on the play. Lowe was intentionally walked and Parades hit a routine grounder to Rafaela. Ceddanne threw the ball away for an error to score Arozarena. Rosario flied out to left to end the inning with the Rays ahead 4-3.
Manuel Rodriguez came in to pitch the bottom of the eleventh with David Hamilton pinch running for McGuire at second to start. Rafaela dropped down a bunt to move Hamilton to third and Duran walked. Refsnyder grounded back to the mound to score Hamilton to tie the game. Wong was hit with a pitch but Devers grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the top of the 12th inning with Rosario starting at second base. DeLuca walked to start but Palacios lined out to left. Aranda beat out a double play ball and Rortvedt took strike three to end the inning. Wong started the bottom of the 12th at second and O'Neill was intentionally walked to get to Gonzalez. Romy made them pay with a base hit to right to score Wong to win the game. The Sox had won it 5-4 in 12 innings.
Sox win
David Hamilton scored a run as a pinch runner.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Hero of The Night is Romy Gonzalez. His rbi base hit to right in the bottom of the 12th won the game.
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
Dominic Smith was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch and 2 runs batted in.
David Hamilton scored a run as a pinch runner.
Nick Pivetta tossed 5 2/3 innings of 2 run ball as he allowed 4 hits while striking out 8.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Brennan Bernardino got the win with a scoreless 12th inning.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Vaughn Grissom was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Justin Slaten allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3 with a home run but committed a costly error.
Tyler O'Neill was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Zack Kelly allowed an unearned run in two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Talk about a good news/bad news game. The bad news was once again they were held to less than 4 runs in regulation and Rafaela threw yet another ball away. They couldn't hit in the clutch for most of the game and Cora pulled a starter early AGAIN. The good news was they found away to win. Dominic Smith got his first big hit with the Sox and they held the fort in extra innings apart from the Rafaela error. After Slaten allowed the tying run, the bullpen didn't give an inch. Pivetta not getting yanked might have prevented all of that and they win 3-2, who knows. Bottom line is they won anyway and against an AL East opponent, which has been their achillies heel for two years now. With the pitching staff beginning to work itself out, Sox brass needs to find a way to generate some offense until Triston Casas gets back. Otherwise they're going to have to win low scoring games every night and that's damn near impossible. Still, a win is a win and hopefully this sparks them to go on a streak. The win improved the Sox to 22-20, 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to take game three of this four game set tomorrow night when Tanner Houck (3-4, 2.24 ERA) takes on Taj Bradley of Tampa. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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