Red Sox Bash Phillies (6/13/24)

Its about time the Boston Red Sox flexed their offensive muscle against the Philadelphia Phillies. With a big series against the New York Yankees coming up, knocking off the 2022 NL Champions would be a step in the right direction. Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.08 ERA) held the Phils to 3 runs in 6 solid innings as the offense broke the game open. Brad Keller earned his first save of the season by tossing the final three innings. Offensively it was a balanced attack with 6 of the nine starters driving in runs. The key was Tyler O'Neill's three run jack in the fourth inning to essentially ice the game. The bottom of the order picked up big time and the Sox made mincemeat out of the Phillies 9-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                     Carmen Valentina approves of the win

Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kyle Schwarber singled to center to start. Nick Castellanos struck out swinging and Bryce Harper grounded out to second to move Schwarber to second. Bryson Stott grounded out to short to end the inning. Aaron Nola got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran doubled to start. David Hamilton struck out swinging but Tyler O'Neill beat out an infield single to short. Rafael Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Edmundo Sosa grounded out to short to start the top of the second before David Dahl struck out swinging. Whit Merrifield singled to right and Garrett Stubbs singled him to third, but Johan Rojas flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Masataka Yoshida flied out to left to start. Enmanuel Valdez doubled to center and Reese McGuire doubled to right to score Valdez. Dominic Smith got a base hit to left to score McGuire and Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to left. Duan doubled to right to score both runners. Hamilton flied out to left and O'Neill grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.

                                                         Duran drives in a big run

Schwarber struck out swinging to start the top of the third but Castellanos singled to center. Harper lined out to center and Stott struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third as Devers grounded back to the mound to begin. Yoshida grounded out to second and Valdez grounded out to first to end the inning.

The Phillies struck back in the top of the fourth as Sosa got a base hit in the hole at short to start. Dahl popped up to short and Merrifield was hit with a pitch. Stubbs took strike three but Rojas beat out an infield single to short to load the bases. Naturally Schwarber doubled to center to score all three runners. Castellanos flied out to left to end the inning with the Phillies down 4-3.

                                         Chaim Bloom's biggest mistake still haunts the Sox

Castellanos made a great running catch to rob McGuire to start the bottom of the fourth. Smith walked but Rafaela struck out swinging. Duran walked and Hamilton got a base hit to left to score Smith, moving Duran to third. Hamilton swiped second and O'Neill clobbered his 12th home run of the season to ice the game. Devers got a base hit to center and Yoshida got a base hit to right to chase Nola. Gregory Soto got Valdez to line out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 8-3.

                                                                Sox pour it on

Harper lined out to left to start the top of the fifth before Stott grounded out to first. Sosa grounded out to short to end the inning. McGuire was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the fifth but Smith struck out swinging. Rafaela got a base hit to left but Duran struck out swinging. Hamilton also went down hacking to end the inning.

Houck returned for one final inning in the top of the sixth as Dahl flied out to left to start. Merrifield got a abse hit to left but Stubbs flied out to left. Rojas forced Merrifield at second to end the inning. Tanner Houck pitched well, throwing 6 innings allowing 3 runs off 8 hits while striking out 5.

                                                           Good work Houck

Orion Kerkering came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and O'Neill struck out swinging to start. Devers walked but Yoshida struck out swinging. Valdez doubled to center to score Devers but was thrown out at third trying to stretch a triple to end the inning with the Sox up 9-3.

                                                       You're out you dummy!

Brad Keller came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Schwarber got a base hit in the hole at third to start. Castellanos grounded into a double play but Harper got a base hit inside the bag at third. Stott grounded out to second to end the inning. Jeff Hoffman came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and McGuire struck out swinging to start. Smith was hit with a pitch but Rafaela struck out swinging. Duran flied out to center to end the inning.

Sosa flied out to right to start the top of the eighth and Dahl struck out swinging. Merrifield flied out to right to end the inning. Jose Ruiz came in to pitch the bott6om of the eighth and Hamilton took strike three to start. O'Neill went down hacking but Devers doubled to right. Yoshida swung at air to end the inning.

Keller returned to close out the top of the ninth and Stubbs struck out swinging to start. Weston Wilson pinch hit for Rojas and popped up to first. Schwarber walked but Castellanos struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-3.

                                                                   Sox win

Hero of the Night is Tyler O'Neill. His three run home run iced the game.

                                                         Hero O'Neill

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.

Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Enmanuel Valdez was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

Reese McGuire was 1 for 3 with an rbi, hit by pitch and a run scored.

Dominic Smith was 1 for 2 with a walk, hit by pitch, rbi and 2 runs scored.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Tanner Houck got the win by tossing 6 solid innings allowing 3 runs off 8 hits while striking out 5.

Brad Keller got his first save of the year with 3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

None

The Ugly:

David Hamilton was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but stole a base, drove in a run and scored a run.

Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

Final Thoughts:

That was impressive to take two out of three from the NL East leading Phillies. Houck pitched well and using only Keller out of the bullpen saved the big guns for tomorrow's big series against the New York Yankees. The offense finally clicked with the bottom of the order producing and O'Neill hit another home run. We got a month and a half before the deadline and the Sox are another starter away from being serious contenders. The Sox also need to get Trevor Story back whenever that will be. It was great to see the Sox bash around the Phillies in this one and hopefully that carries momentum into the Yankees series. The win improved the Sox to 35-34, 13 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Speaking of which, they come into Fenway tomorrow night when Brayan Bello (6-3) takes on Luis Gil of New York. The game begins at 6:30 PM at Fenway Park.