It was a great night all around as the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and the Boston Red Sox smashed the hapless Chicago White Sox. The Boston bats woke up big time today as they hammered out 24 total hits and 17 total runs. Jarren Duran, Rob Refsnyder and Dominic Smith all had 3 hits or more with Duran hitting a home run. Speaking of home runs, Enmanuel Valdez clobbered a 3 run shot and Jamie Westbrook went yard as well. On the other side, Tanner Houck (6-5, 1.91 ERA) pitched great, holding the White Sox to 3 hits and just two runs. Cam Booser slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth and the BoSox crushed the White Sox 14-2 at Comiskey Park.
The BoSox wasted no time tagging Colas in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran led off with his fifth home run of the season to put Boston on top. Enmanuel Valdez lined out to right but Rob Refsnyder doubled to center. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Tyler O'Neill walked. Dominic Smith lined out to left to end the inning with the BoSox up 1-0.
Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Zach Deloach took strike three to start. Nicky Lopez grounded out to first and Luis Robert Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
The BoSox rallied in the top of the second as Connor Wong was plunked to start. David Hamilton doubled to right and Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit to left to score Wong & Hamilton. Duran flied out to center and Valdez flied out to right, but Refsnyder beat out a roller to third. Devers flied out to left to end the inning with the BoSox up 3-0.
Gavin Sheets lined out to center to start the bottom of the second before Andrew Vaughn struck out swinging. Paul DeJong was hit with a pitch but Korey Lee grounded out to second to end the inning.
O'Neill struck out swinging to start the top of the third inning but Smith got a base hit to short. Wong flied out to left and Hamilton grounded out to second to end the inning. Lenyn Sosa grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third before Ellis grounded out to second. DeLoach grounded out to first to end the inning.
The BoSox struck again in the top of the fourth as Rafaela dumped a base hit to center...booted by Ellis for an error to move Ceddanne to second. Duran walked and Valdez smashed his fifth home run of the season to ice the game. Refsnyder struck out swinging and Vaughn made a diving stab to rob Devers of a single, but O'Neill ripped a base hit to center. Smith walked and Wong got a base hit to right to score O'Neill. Hamilton flied out to center to end the inning with the BoSox ahead 7-0.
Lopez grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the fourth before Robert Jr struck out swinging. Sheets lined out to center to end the inning.
Tim Hill came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Rafaela grounded out to second to start. Duran got a base hit on a roller to second before moving to second on a grounder to second by Valdez. Refsnyder flied out to right to end the inning. Vaughn struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before DeJong grounded out to short. Lee flied out to left to end the inning.
The BoSox struck again in the top of the sixth when Devers lined a base hit to left to begin. O'Neill got a base hit to right and Smith drilled a base hit to center to score Devers. Wong got a base hit to center to score O'Neill before Hamilton grounded back to the mound to move the runners over. Rafaela hit a seeing eye single into left to score Smith and chase Hill from the game. Jared Shuster came in and Duran hit a sac fly to center to score Wong with another un before Valdez walked. Refsnyder took strike three to end the inning with the BoSox ahead 11-0.
With the game out of reach, Bobby Dalbec came in for Devers to start the bottom of the sixth and Sosa got a base hit to center to start. Ellis grounded out to first to move Sosa to second and Lenyn scored on the double to left by DeLoach. Lopez struck out swinging and Robert Jr took strike three to end the inning but the White Sox were down 11-1.
Chicago gets a run back
The BoSox struck again in the top of the seventh as Dalbec lined out to short to start. Jamie Westbrook pinch hit for O'Neill and hit his first home run to increase the lead. Smith got a base hit to center then took second on a wild pitch. Wong walked and Hamilton beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Rafaela got a base hit to left to score Smith and chase Shuster. Duran singled in the hole at short to load the bases but Valdez flied out to left to end the inning with Boston ahead 13-1.
Houck returned for one last inning in the bottom of the seventh and Sheets lined out to left to start. Vaughn then hit a home run all the way to Wrigley Field to cut the lead but DeJong struck out swinging. Lee took strike three to end the inning. That was it for Houck who tossed 7 strong innings allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits.
Good work by Houck
Oscar Colas came in for Sheets to start the top of the eighth and Refsnyder doubled to left to start. Dalbec blooped a single past Lopez and both runners moved over on the fly ball to center by Westbrook. Smith grounded out to short to score Refsnyder and Wong struck out swinging to end the inning with Boston ahead 14-2.
Cam Booser came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Sosa lined out to left to start. Ellis took strike three and DeLoach watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Danny Mendick the third baseman came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Hamilton got a base hit to center to start. Rafaela lined out to right but Duran got a seeing eye single into left. Valdez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Booser returned to close out the bottom of the ninth and Lopez struck out swinging to start. Mendick walked and Colas got a base hit to right, but Vaughn popped up to first. DeJong flied out to right to end the game. The Red Sox had won 14-2.
Red Sox win
Hero Houck
David Hamilton was 2 for 6 with a run scored.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Hero of The Night is Tanner Houck. He tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball to earn the win. He allowed just 3 hits while striking out 9.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 4 for 5 with a walk, a home run, 2 total rbis and 2 runs scored.
Rob Refsnyder was 3 for 6 with a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 2.
Tyler O'Neill was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Jamie Westbrook was 1 for 2 with a home run.
Dominic Smith was 3 for 5 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Connor Wong was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 3 runs scored.
David Hamilton was 2 for 6 with a run scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 4 for 6 with 4 rbis and a run scored.
Cam Booser pitched two scoreless innings.
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Enmanuel Valdez was just 1 for 6 with a walk but the one hit was a 3 run home run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was a total massacre and much needed for the Red Sox. If the Sox have any chance of getting back in the AL East race they need to beat up the bad teams and they did that today. Everything they hit found a hole or left the yard and you don't get too many days like that. The great news was Tanner Houck once again looked great and only needing Cam Booser saved the bullpen for tomorrow. Rafaela finally busted out in a hurry and kudos to Jamie Westbrook for getting his first career home run. Hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum to a nice hot streak as the month of June heats up. The win improved the Sox to 32-31, 12.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Boston looks to make it two in a row against Chicago tomorrow night when Cooper Criswell (3-2, 3.92 ERA) takes on Garrett Crochet of Chicago. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Comiskey Park.
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