As for the game, thank goodness for Garrett Crochet (2-1, 1.38 ERA). The Red Sox ace lived up to his billing by tossing 7 1/3 no-hit innings against his old team the Chicago White Sox. The problem is the Red Sox bats were once again silenced, this time by Shane Smith. Trevor Story was the offensive star of the day, driving in 2 runs in the top of the sixth to put Boston on top and hitting a ninth inning home run for the insurance run. Sox manager Alex Cora yanked Crochet after allowing an 8th inning base hit to Chase Meidroth and Garrett Whitlock damn near coughed up the lead. Still, Whitlock got out of the eighth and Aroldis Chapman nailed down the ninth to give the Sox a much needed 3-1 victory over Chicago at Comiskey Park.
Smith got the ball in the top of the first and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Alex Bregman singled to left. Wilyer Abreu lined out to first to end the inning. Crochet got the ball in the bottom of the first and Miguel Vargas struck out swinging to start. Luis Robert Jr struck out swinging and Lenyn Sosa flied out to right to end the inning.
Trevor Story got a base hit to center to open the top of the second but Triston Casas grounded into a double play. Kristian Campbell grounded out to short to end the inning. Andrew Vaughn grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second before Michael A Taylor's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Casas. Chase Meidroth grounded out to first to end the inning.
Carlos Narvaez grounded out to short to start the top of the third before Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging. Duran got a base hit to right but Devers flied out to center to end the inning. Brooks Baldwin struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Matt Thaiss struck out swinging as well. Jacob Amaya lined out to center to end the inning.
Bregman grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Abreu popped up to third. Story lined out to center to end the inning. Vargas took strike three to start the bottom of the fourth before Robert Jr popped up to first. Sosa lined out to left to end the inning.
Casas walked to begin the top of the fifth before Campbell flied out to right. Narvaez flied out to right and Rafaela flied out to center to end the inning. Vaughn grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth before Taylor struck out swinging. Meidroth went down hacking to end the inning.
The BoSox struck first in the top of the sixth as Duran struck out swinging to start. Devers popped up to first but Bregman got a base hit to right. Abreu walked and Story doubled to right to score both runners. Casas lined out to left to end the inning with Boston ahead 2-0.
Baldwin walked to break up the perfect game to start the bottom of the sixth but Thaiss popped up to second. Amaya struck out swinging and Vargas went down hacking to end the inning.
Mike Clevinger came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Campbell grounded out to short to start. Narvaez swung and missed for strike three but Thaiss threw the ball away for an error. Rafaela flied out to center to chase Clevinger. Tyler Gilbert picked off Narvaez to end the inning. Robert Jr struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh before Sosa went down hacking. Vaughn grounded out to first to end the inning.
Cam Booser came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Duran struck out swinging to start. Devers struck out swinging and Bregman grounded out to short to end the inning. Taylor popped up to first to start the bottom of the eighth but Meidroth broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to left. Rather than let Crochet finish the inning, here came Sox manager Alex Cora to yank him at the first sign of trouble. Crochet allowed 1 hit and a walk through 7 1/3 innings while striking out 11. Garrett Whitlock came in to pitch and Baldwin singled to center to move Meidroth to third. Thaiss got a base hit to right to score Meidroth and move Baldwin to third. Greg Jones pinch ran for Thaiss and Joshua Palacios pinch hit for Amaya. Jones stole second but Palacios struck out swinging. Vargas flied out to left to end the inning with the White Sox down 2-1.
Crochet was outstanding
The BoSox got an insurance run in the top of the ninth against Bryse Wilson. Abreu struck out swinging but Story hit his 3rd home run of the season to increase the lead. Casas got a base hit to center and Campbell also got a base hit to center, but Narvaez flied out to left. Rafaela got a base hit in the hole at short to load the bases but Duran flied out to left to end the inning with the BoSox up 3-1.
Home run Story
Red Sox win
Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Robert Jr struck out swinging to start. Sosa popped up to second but Vaughn got a base hit to center. Nick Maton ran for Vaughn but Taylor struck out swinging to end the game. The Red Sox had won it 3-1.
Hero of the Night is Garrett Crochet. He dominated the White Sox for 7 1/3 innings allowing just 1 run on 1 hit and a walk.
Hero Crochet
The Good:
Alex Bregman was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Trevor Story was 3 for 4 with a home run and 3 total rbis.
Triston Casas was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Aroldis Chapman earned his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout, a caught stealing and got picked off.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Kristian Campbell was just 1 for 4.
Garrett Whitlock allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
Good win but once again where are the bats? If it wasn't Story the Red Sox might have lost this one and its only a matter of time before the other teams start to hit. Crochet is the Sox first ace since 2018 when Chris Sale was healthy so the Sox would be wise to keep him healthy, especially with Richard Fitts down. The good news is Brayan Bello is only one rehab start away from returning so the days of relying on Sean Newcomb and Cooper Criswell might be ending soon. Like previously mentioned, the true problem are the bats. They haven't scored more than 3 runs since last Sunday against St. Louis and look totally lost at the plate. They better turn things around soon or else they'll be too far behind the other teams in the AL East. Good for Story to have a good day for once, if only he was more consistent. The Sox now travel to Tampa Bay for a set with the Rays. Tanner Houck goes for the Sox against Shane Baz of Tampa. The first game begins tomorrow night at 7:05 PM at Steinbrenner Field.
No comments:
Post a Comment