How about those red hot Boston Red Sox? After losing to the Chicago White Sox the Red Sox have won 10 of their last 13 games including today's tilt with the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox employed a bullpen game with Zack Kelly as the opener and held the Reds to four runs combined. Meanwhile the Sox got two big innings which was all they needed. Connor Wong belted a two run home run off Cincy starter Nick Lodolo in the top of the fourth before Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran drove in runs. Two innings later, Duran drove in another run before Rob Refsnyder hit a 2 run shot to ice the game. The Reds got 3 runs off Brad Keller but Chris Martin, Justin Slaten and Kenley Jansen slammed the door to give the Sox a 7-4 victory over the Reds at Great American Ballpark.
Lodolo got the ball in the top of the first inning after a 12 minute rain delay and Jarren Duran hit a roller to first that was bobbled, yet he was ruled safe. Reds manager David Bell challenged that Duran was out and replays showed he was. Rob Refsnyder drew a walk and Tyler O'Neill ripped a base hit to center, but Rafael Devers forced Tyler at second to put runners at the corners. Connor Wong forced Devers at second to end the inning. Kelly got the ball in the bottom of the first and TJ Friedl flied out to right to start. Elly De La Cruz struck out swinging on a nasty changeup and Jaimer Candelario grounded out to first to end the inning.
Romy Gonzalez led off the top of the second by grounding out to second to start. Dominic Smith flied out to right and Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. The Reds threatened in the bottom of the second as Spencer Steer got a base hit to left to start. Tyler Stephenson moved Steer to second with a grounder to short but Rafaela ran down a 380 foot line drive by Jonathan India. Will Benson struck out swinging to end the inning.
David Hamilton led off the top of the third by grounding out to second. Duran beat out a grounder in the hole at short but Refsnyder struck out swinging on a great curveball. Duran swiped second but O'Neill grounded out to short to end the inning. Santiago Espinal grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the third before Stuart Fairchild took strike three. Sox manager Alex Cora felt Kelly had done enough and yanked him for Brennan Bernardino after just eight outs. Friedl struck out swinging to end the inning.
Devers walked to start the top of the fourth and Wong blasted his seventh home run of the season to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Gonzalez missed a home run by 5 feet off the right field wall and settled for a double. Smith walked on a questionable ball four and Reds manager David Bell stormed out of the dugout completely irate. He started ripping his clothes off and was ejected by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor. Rafaela hit a routine double play ball to short but India threw the relay throw away for an error to score Gonzalez. Rafaela ended up on second but Hamilton struck out swinging. Duran doubled off the centerfield fence to score Cedanne but Refsnyder popped up to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Naturally the Reds rallied in the bottom of the fourth as De La Cruz doubled to the left field wall to start. Candelario drilled a base hit to left to score Cruz and that was it for Bernardino. Greg Weissert came in and Steer struck out swinging before Stephenson flied out to center. India doubled down the left field line but Benson flied out to right to end the inning with the Reds down 4-1.
O'Neill walked to start the top of the fifth but was forced at second by Devers. Devers took second on a wild pitch but Wong grounded out to third. Say goodbye to Lodolo as Buck Farmer came in to face Gonzalez....but wait! Sox manager Alex Cora pinch hit Wilyer Abreu for Gonzalez but he popped up to second to end the inning. Cam Booser came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Espinal flied out to right to start. Fairchild got a base hit to left but Friedl lined out to a running Abreu. De La Cruz struck out swinging to end the inning.
Smith struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth before Rafaela flied out to center. Hamilton doubled past the diving Candelario to chase Farmer. Brent Suter came in to face Duran and Jarren poked a base hit just past De La Cruz to score Hamilton. Refsnyder then blasted his third home run of the season to ice the game. O'Neill also singled in the hole at short and took second on a wild pitch, but Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Another big fly for Refsnyder
The Reds rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Brad Keller came in to pitch. Candelario flied out to left but Steer was hit with a pitch. Stephenson doubled to right but Abreu booted the ball to allow Steer to score. India beat out a roller to Devers to put runners at the corners but Benson struck out swinging. Naturally Espinal ripped a base hit to center to score Stephenson and move India to third. Fairchild poked a base hit to center to score India and move Espinal to third. Friedl flied out to the centerfield warning track to end the inning with the Reds down 7-4.
Wong lined out to short to start the top of the seventh before Steer made a hell of a sliding catch to rob Abreu of extra bases. Smith grounded out to first to end the inning. Chris Martin came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and De La Cruz grounded out to first to start. Candelario flied out to center and Steer grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Rafaela grounded out to third to start the top of the eighth before Hamilton lined out to center. Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. Justin Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Stephenson flied out to center to start. India struck out swinging but Benson was hit on the elbow. Espinal grounded out to third to end the inning.
Refsnyder struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth before O'Neill also went down hacking. Devers got a base hit to right but Wong took strike three to end the inning. Kenley Jansen came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Fairchild popped up to third to start. Friedl grounded out to second but De La Cruz got a base hit to right. Elly took second on defensive indifference but Candelario flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-4.
Hero of The Night is Rob Refsnyder. His two run shot essentially ended the game.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 3 for 5 with a stolen base, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Tyler O'Neill was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 2 with a run scored.
Zack Kelly tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Greg Weissert tossed a scoreless inning.
Cam Booser tossed a scoreless inning.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 15th save.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 2.
Brennan Bernardino allowed a run in 1/3 of an inning despite getting the win.
Brad Keller allowed 3 runs in the sixth inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Dominic Smith was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Not bad for the Red Sox to go 5-1 on the road trip and 10-3 in their last 13 games. The Reds aren't that good but you have to beat the teams in front of you. To survive a bullpen game against the other team's best pitcher is remarkable. The teamwide attack of Rob Refsnyder, Connor Wong and the start by Kelly showcases how hot the Sox are. If only the Sox had an ace pitcher to put it all together, they'd be right there with the New York Yankees. The Sox are also due to get Triston Casas after the All-Star break which is going to mercifully end the Dominic Smith experience. The only question is can the Sox keep up this momentum? If they can, all of a sudden the trade deadline narrative changes. Rather than sell off Tyler O'Neill, Kenley Jansen and Masataka Yosida, they may just bundle some prospects for an ace pitcher. Still, in the last two years (three really) the Sox faded in June and July so we're going to find out the character of this team very shortly one way or the other. The win improved the Sox to 42-36, 9 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now travel home for a three game set with the Toronto Blue Jays. Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.14 ERA) takes the mound against Captain TBD of Toronto. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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