Now that's more like it. The Boston Red Sox suffered one of their most ignominious defeats last night where Red Sox Nation was calling for the heads of Alex Cora and hitting coach Pete Fatse. Tonight the Sox responded by unleashing Alex Bregman on the Tampa Bay Rays. Bregman was a perfect 5 for 5 at the plate with two home runs and four rbis by himself. The Sox also got a home run from Jarren Duran and a clutch hit from Ceddanne Rafaela. Walker Buehler (2-1, 5.23 ERA) was solid but not spectacular, tossing 5 innings of 2 run ball to keep the Sox in the game. Zack Kelly damn near blew it in the ninth inning but Aroldis Chapman came in to save the day. The Sox had won it on the back of Bregman with a 7-4 victory over the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.
The Sox wasted no time getting to Rays starter Ryan Pepiot in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran popped up to short to start. Rafael Devers doubled to right and took third on a wild pitch. Alex Bregman FINALLY got a hit with a runner in scoring position with a base hit to left to score Devers. Wilyer Abreu flied out to center but Trevor Story got a base hit to center. Kristian Campbell was called out on interference to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Buehler got the ball in the bottom of the first and Yandy Diaz grounded out to short to start. Brandon Lowe struck out swinging and Junior Caminero grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Triston Casas flied out to center to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging but Carlos Narvaez got a base hit to left. Duran then belted his first home run of the season to increase the lead. Devers grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
The Rays fought back in the bottom of the second as Jonathan Aranda hit a home run all the way to the Baltic Sea to cut the lead. Christopher Morel took strike three, Kameron Misner flied out to left and Jake Mangum grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rays down 3-1.
The Sox answered in the top of the third as Bregman launched his third home run of the season to start. Abreu walked and Story got a base hit to center, but Campbell struck out swinging. Casas lined out to right but Rafaela got a clutch hit with a base hit to right to score Abreu, moving Story to third. Rafaela stole second but Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Taylor Walls grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Ben Rortvedt flied out to center. Diaz grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox were relentless in the top of the fourth as Duran walked to start. Duran swiped second and Bregman doubled to left to score him for another rbi. Abreu and Story both struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
The Rays struck back in the bottom of the fourth although Lowe popped up to first to start. Caminero walked, Aranda got a base hit to left and Morel walked to load the bases just like that. Misner hit a sac fly to left to score Caminero but Mangum lined out to center to end the inning with the Rays down 6-2.
Campbell struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Casas grounded out to second. Rafaela grounded out to third to end the inning. Buehler got in trouble in the bottom of the fifth as Walls singled to left to start. Rortvedt walked and both runners moved over on the grounder to third by Diaz. Lowe took strike three and Caminero grounded out to third to end the inning. Once again Sox manager Alex Cora yanked a starter as that was it for Buehler after just 89 pitches. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks.
Narvaez struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth before Duran lined out to center. Devers grounded out to third to end the inning. Justin Wilson came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Aranda walked to start. Morel struck out swinging and Misner went down hacking but Mangum singled to right. Walls lined out to center to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the seventh with Hunter Bigge now on the mound. Bregman smashed his second home run of the night to increase the lead before Abreu struck out swinging. Story and Campbell both grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 7-2.
Another jack for Bregman
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Rortvedt popped up to first to start. Diaz struck out swinging and Lowe went down hacking to end the inning.
Mason Englert came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Casas got a base hit to right. Rafaela struck out swinging and Narvaez went down hacking. Duran walked but Devers grounded out to short to end the inning. Caminero struck out swinging to open the bottom of the eighth and Aranda lined out to center. Morel struck out swinging to end the inning.
Manuel Rodriguez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Bregman got a base hit to center to start. Abreu forced Alex at second and Story forced Wilyer as well. Campbell lined out to right to end the inning and his on base streak at 17 games. Kelly returned to close out the bottom of the ninth but ran out of gas. Misner got a base hit to right to start and Mangum got a double to left. Walls grounded out to first to score Misner and Rortvedt hit one up the elevator shaft. Diaz singled to right to score Mangum and chase Kelly. Aroldis Chapman was summoned to put out the fire and Curtis Mead pinch hit for Lowe. A wild pitch moved Diaz to second but Mead struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had held on to win 7-4.
Hero of the Night is Alex Bregman. He went 5 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 total rbis.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a stolen base, a 2 run homer and 2 total runs scored.
Trevor Story was 2 for 5.
Walker Buehler got the win with 5 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3
Justin Wilson tossed a scoreless inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned the save by getting the final out of the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Kristian Campbell was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Zack Kelly allowed 2 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 4.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but stole a base and drove in a run.
Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Maybe last night's loss woke them up because they didn't make any mistakes in this one. Alex Bregman carried the offense but apart from Zack Kelly's ninth inning, this was nearly a flawless game. Still didn't like Cora pulling Buehler after 5 innings but if the bullpen melts in July again, maybe this will be the end of Cora in Boston. Its a shame Campbell came back down to earth but guys like Duran, Bregman and Story are supposed to be the ones contributing and they did. The problem the Sox are facing is what they faced last year, its hard to go on a winning streak when you play so inconsistent. They actually looked competent in tonight's game but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Still, good for Bregman to put the offense on his back and hopefully the rest of the guys will wake up. The Sox look to make it two in a row against Tampa tomorrow night when Sean Newcomb (0-2, 4.97 ERA) takes on Zack Littell of the Rays. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Steinbrenner Field.
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