So much for the feel good story of the June 2024 Boston Red Sox. After crushing everyone in their path after being embarrassed by the hapless Chicago White Sox, they came crashing down to earth with their fourth straight loss. Today the San Diego Padres laid waste to their bungholes by taking out Tanner Houck (7-6, 2.67) on his 28th birthday and the Boston bullpen. The Sox defense didn't help either with 3 errors as the Padres pounded out 16 hits and 11 runs. Meanwhile Michael King held the Sox bats to just 1 measly run in 6 innings and the bullpen wasn't even challenged. A six run fifth inning sealed the deal as San Diego bashed the Sox 11-1 at Fenway Park.
Birthday boy Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and Luis Arraez grounded out to short to start. Jurickson Profar struck out swinging and Jake Cronenworth flied out to right to end the inning. King got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran popped up to second to start. Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging and Tyler O'Neill also went down hacking to end the inning.
The Padres struck first in the top of the second as Manny Machado grounded out to second to start. Donovan Solano singled to right, Jackson Merrill got a base hit to right and Ha-Seong Kim singled to center. Duran booted the ball for an error to allow Solano to score to put the Padres up. Brett Sullivan struck out swinging and Bryce Johnson grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Padres up 1-0.
Rafael Devers took strike three to start the bottom of the second and Masataka Yoshida lined out to left. Connor Wong popped up to first to end the inning.
The Padres iced the game in the top of the third as Arraez got a base hit to left to start. Profar and Cronenworth both struck out swinging but Machado hit a home run all the way to Maine to increase the lead. Solano lined out to center to end the inning with the Padres up 3-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Enmanuel Valdez grounded out to first to start. Dominic Smith got a base hit to right but Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to center. Duran struck out swinging to end the inning.
Merrill hit a home run all the way to the Klingon Homeworld to start the top of the fourth and Kim grounded out to third. Sullivan lined one off of Houck but Valdez threw him out anyway. Johnson grounded out to first to end the inning with the Padres up 4-0.
Abreu doubled to left to start the bottom of the fourth and ONeill lined out to short. Devers grounded out to second and Yoshida flied out to center to end the inning.
The Padres finished off Houck in the top of the fifth as Arraez walked to start. Profar got a base hit to center to move Luis to third and Cronenworth got a base hit to right to score Arraez. Machado then hit a three run bomb into the Charles River to pretty much Houck's ERA title hopes. Solano lined out to third and FINALLY Sox manager Alex Cora yanked Houck. He was awful, allowing 8 runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Bailey Horn made his Major League debut by getting Merrill to line out to center but Kim got a base hit to left. Sullivan hit a home run all the way to Portugal to increase the lead. Johnson struck out swinging but the Padres put up six runs to lead 10-0.
Wong got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the fifth and Valdez walked. Smith took strike three and Rafaela grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Arraez doubled to right to start the top of the sixth and moved to second on the Profar grounder to short. Cronenworth hit one up the elevator shaft and Machado grounded out to second to end the inning. Tyler Wade came in for Profar to start the bottom of the sixth but Duran broke up the shutout with his eighth home run of the season. Abreu singled to center but O'Neill struck out swinging. Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning but the Sox were down 10-1.
Solano grounded out to short to start the top of the seventh and Merrill did the same. Kim walked and Horn threw a routine grounder by Sullivan away for an error. Johnson walked to load the bases but Arraez struck out swinging to end the inning. Apart from the home run to Sullivan, not the worst debut for Horn.
Yuki Matsui came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Yoshida grounded out to first to start. Wong struck out swinging but Valdez doubled to right. Smith took strike three to end the inning.
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Wade struck out swinging to start. Devers booted a grounder by Cronenworth for yet another error but Machado took strike three. David Peralta pinch hit for Solano and got a base hit in the hole at short. Merrill doubled to right to score Cronenworth to wrap up the scoring. Kim grounded out to short to end the inning with the Padres up 11-1.
Austin Davis came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Rafaela grounded out to short to start. Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Duran and was hit with a pitch. Abreu struck out swinging and O'Neill also went down hacking to end the inning.
Reese McGuire took over for Yoshida in the lineup but behind the plate in the field and Smith the first baseman came in to pitch. Sullivan flied out to right before Johnson did the same. Arraez got a base hit to center but Wade lined out to center to end the inning. Smith pitched better than Kelly, Houck and Horn. May as well keep him there when Triston Casas comes back.
Enyel De Los Santos came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Devers struck out swinging to start. McGuire walked but Wong popped up to second. Valdez hit one up the elevator shaft to end the game. The Padres had won it 11-1.
Jackass of the Night is Tanner Houck. He allowed 8 runs in just 4 1/3 innings off 9 hits and a walk.
The Good:
Romy Gonzalez was hit with a pitch in his only at-bat.
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 4.
Dominic Smith was 1 for 3 at the plate and pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Enmanuel Valdez was 1 for 3 with a walk.
The Bad:
Tyler O'Neill was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 3.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3.
Bailey Horn allowed 2 runs in 2 2/3 innings and made an error.
Zack Kelly allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran hit a home run but struck out and made an error to allow a run to score.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Honorable Mention:
Reese McGuire caught the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
So much for the resurgent 2024 Red Sox. For two weeks they looked like a competent baseball team but now they've lost 4 in a row and crashed down to Earth. Its a shame too because the 8-9-1 combo of Rafaela, David Hamilton and Duran was running teams out of the ballyard but it appears Sox manager Alex Cora has gotten away from that. Houck sucked on his birthday, maybe he had too much cake before the game. Tough way for Bailey Horn to make his ML debut, especially since he got outpitched by a first baseman. When your first baseman throwing a clean inning on the mound is a highlight of your afternoon, you know it was a bad day. The Sox have to rebound in a hurry or else they'll remain at the bottom of the standings. The loss dropped the Sox to 43-40, 10 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid the sweep tomorrow when Josh Winckowski (1-1) gets the start against Matt Waldron of San Diego. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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