That's more like it. A day after Cole Ragans and the Kansas City Royals shut down the Boston Red Sox, today the Sox turned the trick on the Royals. Kutter Crawford (6-7, 3.00 ERA) pitched one of the best games of his career tossing 7 shutout innings and holding the Royals to just 3 hits. Meanwhile the Boston bats got to Royals starter Seth Lugo by getting 5 runs off him in 5 innings. Reese McGuire, Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith all drove in runs before Rafael Devers smashed a home run. Zack Kelly slammed the door in the final two innings and the Sox had won the game 5-0 at Fenway Park.
Crawford got the ball in the top of the first inning as Adam Frazier struck out swinging to start. Bobby Witt Jr popped up to first and Vinnie Pasquantino flied out to left to end the inning. Lugo got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran doubled to center to start. David Hamilton walked but Masataka Yoshida took strike three. Rafael Devers grounded out to second to move the runners over but Rob Refsnyder lined out to center to end the inning.
Salvador Perez popped up to second to start the top of the second and Hunter Renfroe flied out to left. Mj Melendez was hit by a pitch but Freddy Fermin grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Wilyer Abreu grounded out to second to start. Dominic Smith got a base hit to right and Reese McGuire doubled to right to score him. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to second to move McGuire to third and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Maikel Garcia grounded out to third to begin the top of the third but Garrett Hampson doubled to left. Frazier flied out to center and Witt Jr popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Hamilton struck out swinging to start. Yoshida got a base hit to right and Devers singled to left, but Refsnyder struck out swinging. Abreu pounded a ground rule double into the right field stands to score Yoshida and Smith got a base hit to right to score the remaining runners. McGuirr caught Garcia asleep with a bunt single down the third base line but Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Pasquantino grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth and Perez struck out swining. Renfroe grounded out to second to end the inning. Duran grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Hamilton got a base hit to right. Yoshida banged into a double play to end the inning.
Melendez struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Fermin lined out to right. Garcia lined out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Devers smashed his 22nd home run of the year to start. Refsnyder struck out swinging, Abreu flied out to center and Smith grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Hampson grounded out to third to begin the top of the sixth but Frazier walked. Witt Jr forced Frazier at second but Pasquantino singled off the glove of Devers. Perez popped up to first to end the inning. Kris Bubic came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and McGuire grounded out to third to start. Rafaela struck out swinging but Duran reached on a bunt single in front of the plate. Duran was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Renfroe grounded out to short to start the top of the seventh and Melendez popped up to first. Fermin took strike three to end the inning. Hamilton grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the seventh and Yoshida grounded out to third. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning.
Garcia got a base hit to center to begin the top of the eighth and that was it for Kutter. Crawford was outstanding, allowing no runs in 7 innings off 3 hits and a walk. Zack Kelly came in and Hampson grounded into a double play. Frazier grounded out to second to end the inning.
Nick Anderson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Refsnyder got a base hit to left to start. Abreu lined out to right, Smith struck out swinging and McGuire took strike three to end the inning.
Kelly returned to close out the top of the ninth and Witt Jr struck out swinging. Pasquantino struck out swinging but Perez got a base hit to center. Renfroe got a base hit to right but Melendez grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-0.
Hero of The Night is Kutter Crawford. He tossed 7 innings of shutout ball allowing 3 hits and a walk while striking out 4.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4.
David Hamilton was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 total runs scored.
Dominic Smith was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Reese McGuire was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Zack Kelly tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
There's only one game left until the all-star break and the Sox are coming in hot. They've won 9 of their last 12 games and have a very good chance to finish strong at the half-way point. They're still an ace away from being serious contenders but they're still in good shape in the standings. Crawford's record doesn't show it but a 3.00 ERA is nothing to sneeze at. If Brayan Bello were to harness his talent they could be a deadly 2-3-4 if the Sox were to get the next Chris Sale. There's still a few weeks to the trade deadline and just like last year, they need some help. Still, this was a hell of a win and it seems like that loss to Chicago back in June turned the season around. All they have to do is keep plugging away and good things will happen. The win improved the Sox to 52-43, 5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox closeout the first half of the season tomorrow afternoon against the Royals when Brayan Bello (9-5) takes on Brady Singer of Kansas City. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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