Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Romy Gonzalez was placed on the Injured List with a bad quad injury and Nick Sogard was called up to take his place. Gonzalez was doing the best he could before the injury, hopefully this won't be for too long.
As for the game, one day after the Red Sox were held scoreless through 10 innings the Sox made sure that would not happen again. Boston broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fifth with a three run rally off Cole Ragans then tacked it on thereafter. Trevor Story hit a 3 run bomb in the top of the seventh and Carlos Narvaez struck a two run shot in the eighth. Rafael Devers got the final rbi while the Sox didn't have to worry about the other side of the ball. Ace Garrett Crochet (4-2, 1.93 ERA) dominated the Royals tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball to hold them in check. Liam Hendriks and Brennan Bernardino locked the game up and the Sox had avenged their loss the night before with a 10-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
Ragans got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Rafael Devers got a base hit to center but Alex Bregman took strike three. Kristian Campbell also watched strike three go by to end the inning. Crochet got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jonathan India grounded out to third to start. Bobby Witt Jr doubled to left and Salvador Perez got a base hit to center to move Witt to third. Mark Canha and Maikel Garcia both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Trevor Story struck out swinging to start the top of the second but Wilyer Abreu walked. Nick Sogard flied out to center but Abreu was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. Vinnie Pasquantino took strike three to start the bottom of the second but Hunter Renfroe got a base hit to center. Freddy Fermin flied out to center and Drew Waters struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Carlos Narvaez grounded out to first to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third but Duran got a base hit to center. Devers doubled to left to score Duran but Bregman popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Royals answered in the bottom of the third as India struck out swinging to start. Witt Jr got a base hit to left, stole second and took third on a balk. Perez struck out swinging but Canha singled off the Glove of Campbell to score Witt. Canha was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Campbell struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth and Story did the same. Abreu lined out to center to end the inning. Garcia grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth and Pasquantino grounded out to second. Renfroe popped up to first to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the fifth as Nick Sogard grounded out to short to start. Narvaez walked, Rafaela doubled to left and Duran singled to left to score Carlos. Devers got a base hit to center to score Rafaela and Bregman beat out a roller to short to score Duran. Campbell took strike three and Story struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Fermin took strike three to begin the bottom of the fifth but Story booted a grounder by Waters for an error. India flied out to center and Witt Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Taylor Clarke came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Abreu popped up to short to start. Sogard grounded out to second but Narvaez got a base hit to left. Rafaela forced Narvaez at second to end the inning. Perez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Canha lined out to center. Garcia also lined out to center to end the inning.
Angel Zerpa came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Duran grounded out to third to start. Devers walked and Bregman got a base hit to left before both runners advanced on a grounder to Zerpa by Campbell. Story blasted his 6th home run of the season to ice the game and Abreu grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Crochet returned for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh as Pasquantino got a base hit to right to start. Renfroe hit a grounder to first that was thrown away by Sogard for an error but Fermin lined out to short. Waters hit a grounder to Bregman who tagged out Pasquantino but India walked to load the bases. Witt Jr struck out swinging to end the inning. That was it for Crochet who dominated the Royals allowing 1 run off 7 hits and a walk through 7 innings.
The Sox struck again in the top of the eighth as Sogard got a base hit inside the bag at third. Narvaez clobbered his 4th home run of the season to increase the lead. Chris Stratton came in to pitch to Rafaela and Ceddanne tripled to left. Duran struck out swinging but Devers got a base hit to center to score Rafaela. Bregman flied out to right and Campbell popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-1.
Liam Hendriks came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Perez flied out to right to start. Canha lined out to second but Garcia got a base hit to left. Pasquantino got a base hit to right but Renfroe took strike three to end the inning.
Cavan Biggio came in for Witt Jr to start the top of the ninth. Story and Abreu both struck out swinging but Sogard walked. Narvaez got a base hit to center but Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. Brennan Bernardino came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Fermin flied out to right to start. Waters struck out swinging and India grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 10-1.
Hero of The Night is Garrett Crochet. He allowed one run off seven hits and a walk while striking out nine batters through 7 innings.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 4 for 4 with a walk, 3 rbis and a run scored.
Alex Bregman was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Carlos Narvaez was 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 run home run and 2 total runs scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Liam Hendriks pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Brennan Bernardino pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Kristian Campbell was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Trevor Story was just 1 for 5 with the golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts but the one hit was a 3 run home run.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Nick Sogard was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The down note was reportedly Sox owner John Henry came to talk to Rafael Devers to convince him to play first base the rest of the season. Apparently Devers told him to scram. Devers went 4 for 4 tonight so its not like he's not producing. Leave him where he is and go get Dominic Smith, or bring up someone from AAA. Penny pinching to piss off Devers doesn't seem productive. It overshadows a great win today and another fantastic pitching performance by Crochet. The Sox haven't had that kind of guy since Chris Sale in 2018. Sale was nowhere near that level from 2019-23 so Crochet is a breath of fresh air. The offense produced tonight and hopefully that trend continues moving forward. The Sox have been hee-hawing around .500 most of the season, now would be a good time to go on a run. Unlike the previous few seasons, they're not woefully behind already because other teams went on runs. The win improved the Sox to 21-20, 2 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Royals tomorrow afternoon when Lucas Giolito (0-1) takes on Seth Lugo of Kansas City. The game begins at 2:10 PM at Kauffman Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment