When the Boston Red Sox traded Christian Vazquez at the 2022 trade deadline for Wikyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez, THIS was the Valdez they thought they were getting. Trailing 1-0 after the first inning, Valdez tied the game with a solo home run in the second. Valdez scored a run to make it 3-1 later and hit a two run bomb in the sixth to cap his day. Cooper Criswell (3-2, 3.92 ERA) tossed 5 solid innings allowing just that first inning run. The Sox pushed the lead to five runs but Brad Keller allowed a two run bomb in the ninth inning. The Sox still held on to win 6-3 at Fenway Park.
Criswell got the ball in the top of the first inning and Matt Vierling doubled to center to start. Vierling took third on a passed ball and scored on the Riley Greene single to right. Wenceel Perez grounded into a double play and Gio Urshela grounded out to short to end the inning with the Tigers up 1-0.
Olson got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Wilyer Abreu also grounded out to second but Dominic Smith singled to right. Rafael Devers forced him at second to end the inning.
Colt Keith grounded out to short to start the top of the second before Spencer Torkelson struck out swinging. Zach McKinstry doubled to left and Javier Baez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox tied it up instantly in the bottom of the second when Enmanuel Valdez bashed his third home run of the season. Vaughn Grissom pulled up lame on a ground out to third and had to leave the game. Reese McGuire took strike three and Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Connor Wong took over for Valdez to start the top of the third and Jake Rogers grounded out to short to start. Vierling and Greene both struck out swinging to end the inning. David Hamilton flied out to left to start the bottom of the third but Duran got a base hit to center. Abreu got a base hit to right to move Duran to third and Jarren scored when Smith beat out a double play ball. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Perez walked to start the top of the fourth but Urshela lined out to right. Keith lined out to first and Torkelson grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Valdez doubled to left to start. Valdez moved to third on the Wong grounder to first and scored on the McGuire sac fly to left. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning.
McKinstry struck out swinging to begin the top of the fifth before Baez grounded out to third. Rogers took strike three to end the inning. Hamilton went down hacking to start the bottom of the fifth and Duran grounded out to first. Abreu was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.
Vierling doubled to center to start the top of the sixth and Sox manager Alex Cora AGAIN pulled a starter at the first sign of trouble. Criswell allowed just 1 run on 4 hits and a walk through five plus innings. Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch and Greene took strike three. Rafaela made an amazing diving catch to rob Perez of a double then doubled off Vierling at second to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Smith walked to start. Devers grounded out to first to move Smith to second but Valdez clobbered his second home run of the game. That was it for Olson as Will Vest came in to pitch to Wong. Connor got a base hit to right and took off for second. Baez muffled the throw and Wong took third, but McGuire struck out swinging. Rafaela went down hacking to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Urshela singled to center to start the top of the seventh but Keith struck out swinging. Torkelson flied out to left and Andy Ibanez pinch hit for McKinstry. Ibanez lined out to center to end the inning. Hamilton grounded out to second to start the bottom of the seventh but Duran doubled to left. Abreu walked but Smith popped up to short. Devers got a base hit to left and Greene threw the ball away to allow Duran to score. Valdez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 6-1.
Brad Keller came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Baez took strike three to start. Rogers popped up to second and Vierling grounded out to third to end the inning. Jason Foley came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Wong struck out swinging to start. McGuire grounded out to short but Rafaela got a base hit to center. Rafaela took off for second and took third on the error by Rogers. Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Keller returned to close out the top of the ninth and Greene got a base hit to right to start. Perez flied out to center but Urshela hit a home run all the way to Mongolia to cut the lead in half. Keith flied out to center and Torkelson struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.
Hero of The Night is Enmanuel Valdez. He was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs, 3 total rbis and 3 total runs scored.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Dominic Smith was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Connor Wong was 1 for 3 with a stolen base.
Cooper Criswell earned the win tossing 5 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 4 hits and a walk while striking out five.
Brennan Bernardino tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Vaughn Grissom was 0 for 1 before leaving the game.
David Hamilton was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Brad Keller allowed two runs in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Reese McGuire was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but stole a base and threw out a runner.
Final Thoughts:
If yesterday was Rafaela's coming out party then today was Enmanuel Valdez day. He didn't do it alone, the bats pitched in for 3 other runs driven in and the pitching held up for the most part. Criswell gave them 5 strong innings and Bernardino held the fort after. Keller gave up one mistake to Urshela in the ninth, otherwise he would have been good too. The Sox needed a win like this with the mounting injuries to show they can still drive in runs. The running Red Sox also stole two more bases, hopefully they can keep this up with threats like Hamilton, Rafaela and Duran. That might be the only way they get back in the division race since they don't have the power with Trevor Story and Triston Casas out. The win improved the Sox to 30-29, 10.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the fourth game of this series tomorrow afternoon when Brayan Bello (6-2, 4.18 ERA) takes on Casey Mize of Detroit. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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